FOCUS OF ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN 2012

MP Bev shipley is welcoming Economic Action Plan 2012’s focus on creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. Keeping taxes low and returning Canada to balanced budgets over the medium term is good news for Ontario especially in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.

“In Economic Action Plan 2012, our Conservative government is squarely focused on what matters to Canadians – jobs and economic growth,” said Shipley. “While Canada has created over 610,000 net new jobs since July 2009, the global economy remains fragile and too many Canadians are still looking for work. That’s why we’re moving forward with a positive plan to bolster the long-term economic growth of Ontario and all of Canada.”

MP Shipley noted that Economic Action Plan 2012 was not the budget many were fearing and he says there is a very good reason for that. Our government has done a responsible job in managing the economy over the past six years and as a result we have one of the strongest economies in the industrialized world. “There was simply no need to impose some of the drastic cuts which are happening in Greece, Spain, Italy, England, France and other countries.”

MP Shipley says the Government was able to protect Canadians from the worst of the global economic recession by paying down the debt by almost $40 billion when times were good and targeted stimulus measures when the downturn hit. “Since July of 2009 we’ve established a sound economic environment so that businesses have created 610,000 new jobs while lowering taxes in every area where the federal government collects taxes. Our tax relief means the average family of four is paying $3,100 less per year in federal taxes than when we took office in 2006.”

And Shipley adds, Economic Action Plan 2012 builds on the government’s success. “We’ll continue to increase transfers to the Province of Ontario for health care, post secondary education and social programs at record levels,” adding “that transfers to Ontario have increased by 77 per cent since 2006.”

“While the past government drastically cut transfers for health care and education when in power, our Conservative government will continue to protect and grow them to help support the services that Ontario’s families need,” noted Shipley.

MP Shipley said the Government has listened to Canadians and particularly to those in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex who provided him with a number of suggestions for the Minister of Finance, including:

• Reducing the size of government
• Reducing red tape and duplicate regulations
• Putting MP and public sector pension plans on par with the private sector
• Opening new markets globally for Canadian businesses through new trade agreements
• Reducing Government spending by $5.2 billion
• And more

Going forward MP Shipley says the government will make targeted investments and build on Canada’s prosperity by:

• Encouraging entrepreneurship, innovation, and world-class research
• Improving conditions for business investments
• Investing in training, infrastructure and opportunity for Canadians
• Ensuring vital social programs and services will be there for Canadians over the next generation
• Keeping taxes low so that Canadians have more money where it belongs; in their own pockets