Congratulations to all our Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Their dedication and talent exemplifies the Canadian spirit.

While the eyes of the world focused on Canada’s athletic accomplishments, Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides an economic performance example for others to follow. The Economic Action Plan Year 1 ensured Canada came through the global recession in better shape than any other country in the industrialized world. Budget 2010 – Economic Action Plan Year 2 promises to solidify Canada’s recovery by continuing to create jobs and promote economic growth.

Northern Albertans will benefit from:

• Personal income tax relief – federal tax bracket adjustments, higher child benefits for parents and lower taxes for low- and middle-income seniors
• Seniors – New Horizons for Seniors will combat financial abuse of seniors and help promote volunteering
• Worker retraining and support – enhancement of EI benefits and training opportunities for our unemployed, extending maximum length for work-sharing agreements
• Young workers – internships and skills development to help find jobs
• Agriculture - $75 million over three years so cattle producers have access to competitive processing operations and $51.7 million over two years to support Canadian Grain Commission operations
• Forestry - $100 million over four years to support clean energy generation
• Manufacturing – tax reductions to support job creation, growth and investment in all sectors of the economy, removal of tariffs lowering the cost of imported goods and increasing competitiveness and productivity