Sure. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Merci beaucoup.
It's a real pleasure to appear before this committee once again, this time to present the 2010-11 main estimates and also the report on plans and priorities for Human Resources and Skills Development and for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which outlines our government's plans for the year ahead.
Let me begin, if I may, by putting these plans in context. Last year, the world experienced the worst economic downturn since the Second World War. Although Canada has fared better than many other countries, Canadian families were significantly affected by the global recession.
That's why our Conservative government took action through our economic action plan. This comprehensive plan provided investments to help those who were hardest hit by creating and maintaining jobs and by helping Canadians prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.
Madam Chair, we can often get bogged down by the numbers, but what Canadians care about most are results. So what impact is our action plan having on them and on their families? Well, I am proud to say that the results so far show that our economic action plan is working.
First, Canadians who have lost their jobs and are having a hard time getting back to work are receiving support through our enhancements to the employment insurance system.
To date, over 580,000 unemployed Canadians have received an extra five weeks of EI benefits.
In addition, the extra support we've extended to long-tenured workers will help up to 200,000 Canadians who have worked hard, paid premiums for years, and now need some extra help.
We've made sure that Canadians are receiving their benefits in a timely manner. Despite a very large spike in EI claims last year, we were able to maintain our service standards, and Canadians received the benefits in the same timeframe that they did before the global downturn took hold.
Second, we're helping Canadians get the training and work experience they need to transition to the jobs of tomorrow. This is part of our government's commitment to have a workforce that is the best educated, most skilled, and most flexible in the world. Close to one million Canadians received skills training in the last year alone, thanks to our government's unprecedented investments.
We know that older workers often have difficulty finding a new job because they have limited skills. That's why we increased investments in the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers by an additional $60 million.
Keeping older Canadians in the work force is becoming increasingly important due to the demographic challenges our country is facing and because of their invaluable knowledge and mentoring abilities.
We're also encouraging Canadians to pursue the skilled trades and to complete their apprenticeship training. Over 140,000 Canadians have received the $2,000 apprenticeship incentive grant since it was introduced in January 2007. Close to 20,000 Canadians have already received the $2,000 apprenticeship completion grant since it was introduced less than a year ago.
Our government is committed to helping Canadians receive a post-secondary education. We have significantly improved student financing. For example, over 265,000 students received grants this year under our new, improved program. That's money that they don't have to pay back. And that's 120,000 more students than benefited under the old program.
Third, we are creating and protecting jobs. The enhanced work-sharing program has been a huge success right across the country. In fact, to date, over 255,000 Canadians' jobs have been protected. This means that these Canadians can continue to put food on their table for their families and that businesses can keep their skilled workers.
In addition, we froze EI premiums last year and this year. This means that Canadians are able to keep more of their money when they need it most and employers are able to maintain their skilled workforce.
Furthermore, our investments in housing are providing Canadians a hand up while they are creating tens of thousands of jobs right across the country.
We know that youth employment was particularly hard hit this past year. Our infusion of an extra $10 million in the Canada summer jobs program last year resulted in almost 40,000 jobs being created for students last summer. This year the program will again receive an additional investment of $10 million that we expect will produce the same results.
Madam Chair, the results so far make it very clear: our economic action plan is working. It's creating jobs and it's helping Canadians get back to work. Now we're seeing several positive signs of economic recovery. In January we saw the largest monthly increase in GDP since December 2006, and the fifth consecutive month of economic growth. In March, employment increased by 17,900. This was the sixth month of job gains in the last eight months. Since July 2009, about 180,000 net new jobs have been created.
The global accounting firm KPMG recently ranked Canada the most competitive industrialized country for job creation. Just last week, the OECD predicted that Canada's economic growth will lead all G7 countries this year by a wide margin.
This is good news for Canadians and for the Canadian economy, but we cannot become complacent. Our economic recovery is fragile. It's imperative that we continue with the implementation of year two of our economic action plan.
That is what the Main Estimates and the Report on Plans and Priorities are all about. They confirm our commitment to creating jobs, helping Canadian families and continuing our unprecedented investments in training to help Canadians transition into a new career and to ensure Canadians have the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow.
It's important to note that the main estimates and RPP do not include the smart investments made in budget 2010. Budget 2010 reaffirms our commitment to year two of the economic action plan, and even builds upon those investments.
For example, budget 2010 extends the enhanced work-sharing program so that Canadians can keep their jobs. It includes significant investments to help students obtain employment and work experience. It provides additional support to Canadian families, including the families of our armed forces members. It also includes funding to educate seniors to protect them against financial abuse. It adds to our government's unparalleled support for persons with disabilities by encouraging their full participation as well as their financial security.
The stimulus was necessary and it is delivering results. However, it was short term and targeted and will soon come to an end. Once implementation of our Economic Action Plan is complete, our government will focus on returning the budget to balance.
Canadians work very hard for their money and they expect their government to use it wisely and in a prudent manner. We believe that, just like Canadians, government should live within its means. We believe this is important because, over the long term, a balanced budget means better jobs and stronger growth. It's also the best way to ensure that Canada's social infrastructure is sustainable for the long term.
But just as important as what we will do is what we won't do.
We will not raise taxes on hard-working Canadian families or on small and medium-sized businesses that are integral to job creation.
We will not cut transfers like the previous Liberal governments did.
We will not engage in massive new spending programs that Canadians are not asking for and cannot afford.
Madam Chair, our Conservative government's number one priority remains the economic recovery. Canadians and members of the committee can rest assured that our government will remain vigilant.
We will stay the course and focus on the task at hand of implementing year two of our Economic Action Plan to help sustain Canada's economic recovery. We are focused on maintaining Canada's economic advantage now and for the future.
Thanks to the investments in the economic action plan, along with the hard work and ingenuity of Canadians and Canadian business, I am confident that Canada will emerge from this recession stronger than ever before.
Merci, Madam Chair.
After the remarks of my counterpart, the Minister of Labour, I will be happy to answer your questions.