March 22, 2011

Today, Minister Flaherty introduced the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to complete Canada’s economic recovery.

Our Government is focused on the economy, supporting hardworking Canadians and their families and completing and securing the economic recovery.  

Today, we introduced the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan: a low-tax plan for jobs and growth.  

As part of the plan:

• We will keep taxes low.
• We will undertake additional targeted investments to support jobs and growth.
• We will control government spending, and stay on track to eliminate the deficit.
• We will not cut transfer payments for crucial services like health care and education, unlike the previous Liberal government.
• We will not give in to Opposition demands to impose massive tax increases.
• We are focused on securing our economic recovery.

We are focused on improving the financial security of Canadian workers, seniors and families.

We have a plan to achieve these goals – a plan that is working – and we need to stay on track.

The Opposition faces a choice between opportunism or working together to secure our recovery and strengthen the financial security of Canadians.

We invite the Opposition parties to support our low-tax plan for jobs and growth.


Background

Supporting Job Creation

• Providing a temporary Hiring Credit for Small Business to encourage additional hiring by this vital sector.
• Supporting the manufacturing and processing sector by extending the accelerated capital cost allowance rate for investment in manufacturing or processing machinery and equipment for two years.
• Legislating a permanent annual investment of $2 billion in the Gas Tax Fund to provide predictable, long-term infrastructure funding for municipalities.

Supporting Families and Seniors

• Enhancing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for those seniors who rely almost exclusively on their Old Age Security and the GIS and may be at risk of experiencing financial difficulties. This measure will provide a new top-up benefit of up to $600 per year for single seniors and $840 per year for couples. This measure represents an investment of more than $300 million per year and will improve the financial security of more than 680,000 seniors across Canada.
• Attracting more health care workers to under-served rural and remote communities by forgiving up to $40,000 of the federal component of Canada Student Loans for new family physicians and up to $20,000 for nurse practitioners and nurses.
• Introducing a new $2,000 Family Caregiver Tax Credit amount that will provide tax relief to caregivers of infirm dependent relatives including, for the first time, spouses, common-law partners and minor children.
• Introducing a $3,000 Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit amount for volunteer firefighters who perform at least 200 hours of service in their communities.
• Providing nearly $870 million over two years to address climate change and air quality, including the extension of the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program that will help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient and reduce the burden of high energy costs.

Investing in Innovation, Education and Training

• Providing $80 million in new funding over three years through the Industrial Research Assistance Program to help small and medium-sized businesses accelerate their adoption of key information and communications technologies through collaborative projects with colleges.
• Establishing 10 new Canada Excellence Research Chairs, some of which will be active in fields relevant to Canada’s Digital Economy Strategy.
• Extending and expanding Canada Student Loans and Grants for part-time and full-time post-secondary students.
• Encouraging skills certification by making all occupational, trade and professional examination fees eligible for tax relief.

Preserving Canada’s Fiscal Advantage

• Delivering more than $500 million in new ongoing savings from the 2010 round of strategic review.
• Protecting the integrity and fairness of the Canadian tax system by closing loopholes.
• Launching a comprehensive one-year Strategic and Operating Review of departmental spending across all of government in 2011-12.