Budget 2009: Canada’s Economic Action Plan

January 30, 2009

Dear Constituents,

This global economic crisis is an extraordinary time that calls for extraordinary measures.  With Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government has laid out its multi-year plan to stimulate the economy, protect Canadians who are hit hardest, and secure Canada’s long-term prosperity.

These times are unprecedented.  A global recession that began in the United States with a crisis in their financial institutions has spread around the world.  It is more serious than anything we have experienced in generations.  Thankfully, Canada took steps early and is now weathering the storm.

Around the world we have seen banks fail and stock markets decline dramatically.  In less than four months since the last election, the global economy has weakened beyond what anyone predicted.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan responds to this reality by providing significant, targeted, and responsible stimulus to the economy to help protect and create jobs, to support families by cutting taxes, and to prepare our country for success in the years ahead with meaningful investments.

The Economic Action Plan includes initiatives to stimulate the economy, including:

• Income and payroll tax cuts to boost income and get the economy working again;
• A home renovation program to spur construction, create jobs, and help Canadians improve their homes;
• Roads, bridges, buildings, and other infrastructure to boost the economy, create jobs, and make Canada stronger for the long-term; and
• Post-secondary education funding and broadband expansion to prepare for the jobs of the future.

The Action Plan also includes initiatives to protect vulnerable Canadians, including:

• Increases in the support under Employment Insurance for Canadians who have lost their jobs;
• Skills training to help people get back on their feet and into the workforce; and
• Significant help for communities hit hardest by the downturn.

Canadians can be proud that their federal government is addressing the reduced availability of financing in Canada that has resulted from the global credit crisis.  The Economic Action Plan includes measures to help Canadians and businesses get the financing they need, including car loans and mortgages.  The government is making up to $200 billion in financing available to credit-worthy borrowers.  This initiative will provide support to the small and medium-sized businesses that drive our economy so they can invest in their operations to help grow, create, and maintain jobs.

Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides the targeted stimulus and responsible tax relief required to help Canadians weather the global recession and allow us to emerge a stronger country once the storm passes.

Yours truly,

Hon. Rona Ambrose, P.C., M.P.
Edmonton-Spruce Grove