Mr. Speaker, in budget 2009, we presented Canada's economic action plan to stabilize and protect our economy for the short term, while taking steps to improve Canada's long-term economic growth and prosperity. The plan was designed to boost confidence and economic growth and to support Canadians and their families during a period of severe global economic weakness. Budget 2010 builds on these goals. The measures presented in budget 2010 will contribute to Canada's recovery and sustain our economic advantage now and for the future.
Canada has weathered the global recession better than all major industrialized countries and we are returning to economic growth following the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. However, we do not yet have a firmly established recovery. As such, Canada's economic action plan will continue to provide unprecedented support for the Canadian economy through 2010 by going beyond the immediate crisis and building on strategic advantages set out in advantage Canada in order to create a more competitive economy.
Year two of the action plan delivers $19 billion in federal stimulus spending, augmented by $6 billion in stimulus from provinces, territories, municipalities and other partners, for a total of $25 billion. Over 90% of year two funding is committed and ready to be delivered. This includes $3.2 billion in personal income tax relief, more than $4 billion in actions to create and protect jobs, $7.7 billion to modernize infrastructure and improve housing across Canada, $1.9 billion to create the economy of tomorrow and $2.2 billion to support industries and communities.
The action plan gives Canadians more flexibility to improve their quality of life even when times are tough. Our plan leaves more money in their pockets. It makes permanent tax reductions that build a strong foundation for future economic growth and higher living standards for Canadians.
Reducing the tax burden on Canadians has been a key element of getting through the global recession while setting the foundation for future growth. Tax relief and the economic action plan benefit all taxpayers, especially lower and middle income Canadians. For example, Canada's low and middle income seniors are benefiting from an increase in the age credit amount. As a result of this increase, the amount of tax relief provided by the age credit for this year alone is up to $967. As well, the working income tax benefit has been enhanced so that it now provides tax relief of $1.1 billion annually to reduce thereby the welfare wall and strengthen work incentives for low income working Canadians.
Indeed, even before the introduction of Canada's economic action plan, Canadians were benefiting from the tax relief introduced by this government. A key example is the two percentage point reduction in the goods and services tax rate. This is a tax break for all Canadians, even those who do not earn enough to pay personal income tax.
Canadians deserve praise for their ability to persevere during this global recession. The economic situation has taken a toll on workers and their families, and Canadians need to have faith that their government is there to assist them. Through Canada's economic action plan, the government is giving Canadians the security and support they require.
The budget is helping workers and their families by strengthening benefits and enhancing the availability of training while the economy moves into recovery. Under the action plan, $1.6 billion will be available to strengthen benefits for Canadian workers in 2010-11, including up to five extra weeks of EI regular benefits, to a maximum of 50 weeks, for all eligible claimants.
The economic action plan is also providing an additional $1 billion in 2010-11 to enhance training opportunities for Canadian workers. These measures will not only assist workers in need now, but will also give them the opportunity to have more meaningful jobs in the future. Canada's economic action plan includes provincial and territorial actions, and is expected to create or maintain approximately 220,000 jobs by the end of 2010.
Traditional industries, including the forest sector and manufacturing industries, have been hit hard by declining sales in the slowing economy. The communities where these industries are located need assistance as they adjust to cyclical and structural changes in the economy.
To promote clean energy generation in the forest industry, budget 2010 creates the next generation renewable power initiative, with $100 million over the next four years to support the introduction of advanced clean energy technologies in the forest sector.
Budget 2010 also provides $135 million in funding over two years for the National Research Council's technology cluster initiatives. The clusters accelerate regional innovation by fostering research collaboration among governments, businesses and academic institutions and by promoting the development of knowledge-intensive companies in key areas.
During this time of continuing global economic uncertainty, Canadians can be assured that our government will never stand by and allow communities in Canada to suffer from threats beyond their borders. Canada's economic action plan accelerated and expanded federal investments in infrastructure. The immediate actions we took have helped Canada come out of the economic crisis with more modern and greener infrastructure. Moreover, for the 2009-10 construction seasons, the government has committed close to $5.5 billion in stimulus funding to over 7,000 projects. Of that amount, almost $4 billion is expected to be spent in 2010.
Investments have moved quickly. We have shortened the time needed to provide federal approval for major projects. We have partnered with the provinces, territories and municipalities, not only to identify ready to go projects but also to leverage their funding contributions. For example, the economic action plan included $500 million over two years for the recreational infrastructure Canada initiative. The initiative is being delivered by the regional development agencies in their respective areas to promote the construction of new community recreational facilities and to upgrade existing facilities across Canada. Investments in infrastructure are paving roads, fixing sewers, repairing bridges and creating jobs.
Provinces and territories should also be assured that they will be able to continue to count on long-term, growing support from this government. In 2010-2011, major federal transfers to provinces and territories will total an all time high of nearly $53.6 billion, an increase of $2.1 billion over 2009-10. In 2010-11, the support includes an addition $1.4 billion in the Canada health transfer, $321 million in the Canada social transfer, $187 million in equalization and $166 million in territorial formula financing. In addition, $525 million will be provided through one time payments to ensure that provinces are protected from any decline in their total transfers in 2010-11, in recognition of the short-term challenges being faced by provinces as we emerge from the global recession.
We are ensuring that all provinces receive at least as much support through major transfers this year as they did last year. The government's role in building a more competitive economy includes creating an environment that enables its visionaries to excel and that does not stand in the way of their success. Any competitive economy requires competitive taxes, and tax relief supports businesses and jobs in the short term by providing up-front stimulus, which helps businesses weather challenging economic times while creating a long-term advantage for sustained economic and employment growth.
Since 2006 the government has implemented bold tax reductions and tax changes to provide businesses with a competitive business environment that encourages new investment, growth and job creation in Canada. Canada's economic action plan introduced temporary measures to make computers, as well as machinery and equipment for manufacturing and processing, more affordable for Canadian businesses. Our economic action plan also included a permanent increase in the amount of small business income eligible for the reduced federal income tax rate.
This year, as a result of federal and provincial business tax changes since 2006, Canada will have the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment in the G7 and below the average of the OECD. By 2012, Canada will also have the lowest statutory corporate income tax rate in the G7.
The tax relief actions our government has taken are positioning Canadian businesses to emerge stronger and better equipped to compete globally as the economy recovers. These measures to reduce the tax burden on Canadian businesses are complemented by the elimination of remaining tariffs on machinery and equipment and inputs. This will lower operating costs for Canadian manufacturers and encourage innovation. This means that Canadian manufacturers will be able to import goods for further production in Canada without the burden of tariffs and the cost of complying with certain customs rules such as rules of origin.
Together, these will give Canadian manufacturers a competitive advantage in the global marketplace by lowering production costs, increasing competitiveness and enhancing innovation and productivity. Manufacturers have stated during consultations that such a measure will help them maintain and increase production and employment in Canada and expand their exports. Budget 2010 delivers.
A competitive advantage also requires support for the pursuit of knowledge. Our government recognizes that research and development is an important driver of long-term economic growth and that discoveries stemming from research help improve the quality of life of Canadians. Canada ranks first among the G7 countries in terms of expenditures on research and development in the higher education sector as a share of the economy.
Building on this leadership position, the economic action plan includes an unprecedented $4 billion in additional funding for research infrastructure, knowledge and commercialization. Budget 2010 continues this momentum by providing additional funding to support world class research and researchers, including $32 million per year to the federal research granting councils to sustain their overall support for researchers at Canadian universities, colleges and hospitals and to strengthen commercialization.
Budget 2010 also doubles the budget of the college and community innovation program, providing an additional $15 million per year to promote research collaboration between colleges and companies in all parts of Canada. In addition, the budget announced a new small and medium size enterprise innovation commercialization program, with $40 million over two years for federal departments and agencies to demonstrate the use of innovative prototype products and technologies developed by small and medium size businesses.
The government's plan is to ensure that our country will emerge from the recession with a stronger economic advantage than ever before. There is no question that our country has come through the global economic storm in an enviable position. As Canadians we should be proud of what we have accomplished during a time when other nations were struggling with far greater economic challenges.
That Canada endured recent global turbulence with such resilience is a testament to our economic action plan. It was one of the most comprehensive stimulus packages in the industrialized world, an approach endorsed by the G20 and the G7. As I indicated earlier, the impact of the recession on Canada's economy has been less severe than it has been on virtually all other major industrialized economies, and Canada is expected to have the strongest recovery in the G7 in 2010.
The world can learn a lot from Canada. As Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winner in economics, recently said:
the quiet success stories deserve at least as much attention as the spectacular failures. We need to learn from those countries that evidently did it right. And leading that list is our neighbor to the north. Right now, Canada is a very important role model.
As host of this summer's G20 summit, Canada can serve as an example of how to prepare for and prevent a crisis, and an example of the global contributions that must be made to overcome it. While we are seeing some signs of recovery from the serious global recession, the situation remains fragile. Thanks to our strong economic and fiscal foundation, as well as the timely implementation of our economic action plan, Canada is in relatively good shape compared with other advanced economies.
Based on this position of strength, I can assure members that our country will be a vital part of the long-term solutions, as well as a meeting place for a number of key international events this year that will help transform a world in crisis into one of unparalleled long-term stability.