Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with my hon. colleague from Prince Edward—Hastings. I would like to congratulate him and all returning and new members who were elected on May 2.
I also thank the people of North Vancouver who, again, have given me the honour and privilege of representing them here in Ottawa.
I am pleased today to speak in favour of budget 2011 which introduces the next phase of Canada's economic action plan. Two years ago, Canada, along with the rest of the world, faced an extraordinary economic challenge. The great recession, as it has come to be known, threatened the jobs and the well-being of millions of Canadians and their families.
To address this global crisis, our government acted swiftly and decisively by introducing Canada's economic action plan which included timely and targeted investments in transportation, colleges and universities, libraries, police and fire stations, affordable housing and recreational facilities, infrastructure and road improvements, and countless other important projects. The actions of our government helped to ensure that Canada was able to avoid the worst of the global economic recession and that we were able to enter into recovery faster than almost any other nation in the industrialized world.
It is with great pleasure that I am able to stand here today and say that Canada has posted the strongest employment growth in the G7 and that more Canadians are working today than before the start of the recession.
Although Canadians should be proud of the success, recent world events have shown there remains considerable risk and uncertainty in the global economy. The American and some European economies are suffering from a massive debt crisis, and although we in Canada are doing much better comparatively, there are still far too many Canadians who remain without jobs. It is with this mind that our government introduces the next phase of Canada's economic action plan. It is a blueprint to the building of a better Canada, a Canada that is stronger, more stable and more prosperous. By remaining focused on our economy, our government seeks to stabilize our fragile economic recovery.
We will do this by investing in Canadians and their families. We will encourage private enterprise to invest and to create jobs. We will help Canadians get the education and training they need to work in the 21st century economy. We will assist Canadian families in the care and well-being of their loved ones.
The major priority of our government moving forward is to continue to facilitate the growth and creation of new jobs. The next phase of Canada's economic action plan includes multiple strategies to achieve this. We will be introducing a temporary hiring credit for small business, designed to encourage additional hiring by this vital sector. We will extend the work sharing program and the targeted initiative for older workers. This will help provide older workers who wish to stay in the workforce the opportunity to do so.
We will support the manufacturing sector by extending the accelerated capital cost allowance treatment for investments in manufacturing and processing machinery.
Most important, we will stay on track to keep taxes low in order to encourage job creators to reinvest profits and create jobs and employment.
Another important aspect in protecting our fragile economic recovery is to continue to facilitate further access to international markets. This is why our government is committed to negotiating new free trade agreements which will further grow our economic capacity.
In addition to negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union, the biggest economic bloc in the world, our government is aggressively pursuing better trade relations in the Asia-Pacific region. Increasing our market access in these vital markets is a key component to growing our economy and creating new jobs.
Our government has invested millions into port improvements through the Asia-Pacific Gateway initiative. This, combined with an anticipated free trade agreement with India, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, will directly benefit the Canadian manufacturing industry and our resource sectors.
Due to our comparative advantages, Canada has a tremendous opportunity moving forward through the 21st century , and our government is making the necessary investments to take advantage of this.
However, creating economic opportunities and jobs is only one aspect of the next phase of Canada's economic action plan. In order to have a truly competitive economy in the 21st century, it is imperative that we invest in the education and training of Canadians.
The next phase of Canada's economic action plan contains multiple measures to do just that. We will be investing hundreds of millions of dollars for research and development at top ranked universities and educational facilities. We will extend tax relief for skills certification exams. This will make all occupational trade and professional exam fees eligible for tax relief.
We have committed to double the in-study income exemption from $50 per week to $100 per week. This will directly benefit over 100,000 Canadian students by allowing them to work more without negatively affecting their loans.
Investing in the next generation of Canadian leaders will ensure that our country will continue to maintain the positive momentum we achieved through the important investments we have made over the past five years.
I can mention, for example, a project in my own riding of north Vancouver. Capilano University in my riding received, through the knowledge infrastructure program, $15 million toward the building of a new film and animation centre. This state-of-the-art facility will help train thousands of students for careers in the film industry. It is through investments in the arts such as this that our government is not only strengthening our economy, but also our society as well as creating jobs and helping to train our next generation.
The next phase of Canada's economic action plan introduces important measures to help Canadians take care of their families and their loved ones.
We have introduced a children's art's tax credit, a 15% non-refundable tax credit on up to $500 in eligible fees for children's arts and cultural activities.
We have also introduced a family caregiver tax credit, a 15% non-refundable tax credit on an amount up to $2,000 for Canadians to care for loved ones in need.
We have also removed the $10,000 limit on the amount of eligible medical expenses that can be claimed on behalf of a financially-dependent relative.
Also, we have extended the eco-energy retrofit program. This will help families lower the cost of their heating and electricity bills.
In addition to helping Canadian families, the next phase of Canada's economic action plan takes unprecedented steps to aid Canadian seniors.
We have enhanced the guaranteed income supplement so that low income seniors will have additional benefits of up to $600 for single seniors and $840 for couples. This will help more than 680,000 seniors and is the biggest increase of the GIS in over 25 years.
We have also enhanced the new horizons for seniors program. We are investing over $10 million to promote volunteerism, mentorship and the social participation of seniors. The program will also move to protect seniors by raising the awareness of elder abuse.
Our government is also removing the mandatory retirement age for federally-regulated employees. This will give seniors the freedom to choose whether they wish to remain in the workforce.
On May 2, Canadians elected a Conservative majority government. During the campaign, our party promised to deliver on the priorities of everyday Canadians. The next phase of Canada's economic action plan delivers on this pledge.
As we move forward, our government will continue to lay the foundation for a stronger, more stable and more prosperous Canada.
