Say what you will do and do what you say versus say anything, promise everything and then do nothing in my view represents the stark contrast between Canada’s New Government and those that have come before.

What a difference a year makes.  Our economy is strong, our administration is clean, our country is united – and the news is spreading around the world, “Canada’s back.”  As we draw to the end of 2006 and look forward to 2007, it is fitting to report to you the progress Canada’s New Government has made in fulfilling the commitments made to you during the last election campaign.

After years of Liberal scandal and corruption we promised to clean up government. Last week the Accountability Act, the toughest anti-corruption law in Canadian history received Royal assent. The Federal Accountability Act was one of the Government’s top five priorities on taking office.  The Act, which makes substantive changes to 45 statutes and amends over 100 others, delivers on the Government’s promise to put in place a five year lobbying ban for cabinet ministers and their staffs, to eliminate corporate and union donations, and to protect whistleblowers, in addition to a number of other reforms.

For 13 years the previous government collected more from you in taxes than they needed to deliver government programs and services. We promised tax fairness and in Budget 2006 we cut taxes in every area the government collects revenue – a total of 29 tax cuts totaling more than $20 billion over the next two years including a reduction in the GST from seven percent to six percent and a reduction in the general business tax rate from 21 percent to 19 percent. And unlike the previous government that used mammoth surpluses to go on obscene spending sprees we paid $13.2 billion down on the national debt with a commitment to continue paying the debt by a minimum of $3 billion a year. The interest saved will be applied to further reducing your income tax reductions.

We committed to supporting families, students, seniors and reducing health care wait times. To that end we delivered on our commitments with the Universal Childcare benefit which provides $100 per month for every child under age six, the $500 child fitness tax credit, the tax credit for textbooks for post secondary school students, a $2000 tax credit for employers who hire apprentices and the $1000 a year Employment Tax Credit.

We also provided $1.5 billion in new funding for farmers and we are committed to eliminating the Canadian Income Stabilization Program and replace it with separate income stabilization and disaster relief programs. We will also continue to support and fight for supply management programs.

We said we would get tough on crime and we have. We’ve made communities safer by arming Border Officers, invested nearly $200 million over two years for RCMP training and recruitment. We are combating illegal drugs, implementing tougher laws, eliminating House Arrest for those convicted of violent crimes and we are protecting youth from sexual predators by raising the age of sexual consent from 14 years to 16 years old.

We’ve provided unwavering support for our troops in Afghanistan and started to rebuild our military with investments in new ships, trucks, helicopters and aircraft as well as implementing a bold new plan to recruit 2000 new troops.
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Canada’s New Government resolved the long-standing dispute on softwood lumber which returned $5 billion of duties to Canadian lumber companies. We also settled litigation for those infected with Hepatitis C which provides $1 billion in real compensation.

On the environment we are committed to a Made in Canada solution and have introduced the Clean Air Act which will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also air pollutants which have a direct affect on the health of Canadians.

Locally, it has been my pleasure to meet with hundreds of constituents and groups in order to assist them in dealing Agriculture, Employment Insurance, Canada Revenue, Immigration and Passports and a wide variety of issues people have in dealing with government programs and services.

I am looking forward to the New Year and I am excited about continuing to get things done for Canadians. Please feel free to call on me or a member of my staff whenever you have an issue or concern you think I should know about.