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Barry's
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January 22, 2009
Budget 2009
In the past few days, talk about the 2009 Federal Budget has taken a back seat in our riding to chatter about the resignation of our popular
MPP, Laurie Scott.
As I am sure you have heard, Laurie has stepped aside so that Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader, John Tory, can run for a seat in the Ontario Legislature.
Over the past 5 years, I often find myself eating more dinners with Laurie than my own family, whether at a Legion dinner or a pancake breakfast. I have always enjoyed working with Laurie, and I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.
On Monday, Parliament will resume in Ottawa. On Tuesday, Budget 2009 will be presented by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, an unprecedented two months earlier than normal. This is being done to address the many serious issues facing our economy.
Although I am not privy to details of the Budget, I think I can safely say that we are committed to doing our part to get the global economy back on track – even if it means running a large, short-term deficit.
Canada’s position, as part of a broad plan adopted this past November in Washington by the Group of 20 (G-20), is aimed at combating the global economic meltdown that threatens to plunge the world into a deep recession.
At the G-20 Summit, all leaders agreed monetary policy alone would not be sufficient to address the current economic crisis, and expressed the need to provide further, more comprehensive efforts to get the world 's economy growing again.
Although Canada has already taken steps to stimulate our economy, such as reducing taxes and increasing infrastructure investments, we agreed to do more in this global effort to arrest this recession.
In all cases, the Government of Canada will act in the best long-term interests of our economy with targeted infrastructure spending that will create lasting jobs and strengthen the economy.
All levels of government will have to work together to get these projects moving. We need the help and support of the Premiers, mayors and community leaders to cut red tape.
We’ll do our part, but all levels of government need to come to the table with funding and actions to accelerate projects.
I expect that Budget 2009 will be remembered as a shot of adrenaline for the Canadian economy. Only time will tell how well we accomplished our goal.
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