For Immediate Release February 27, 2008
Budget Builds on Solid Foundation
Ottawa (February 27, 2008)-- Ed Komarnicki, M.P., Souris- Moose Mountain
This April 2008 when Canadians are completing their income tax returns, they will realize the benefits of the massive tax cuts introduced by our government in previous budgets. Budget 2008 builds on this as we reduce the tax burden to the lowest level since the government of John George Diefenbaker. To date our government has taken action to deliver over $190 billion in tax relief over this and next five years.
Today, Canadians are benefiting from a reduction in the GST to 5%, lower personal income taxes and savings delivered through a series of targeted tax relief measures. The government is reducing the federal debt by more than $37 billion, including $10.2 billion this fiscal year and has made a commitment to allocate ongoing interest savings to further income tax reductions for Canadians.
A central tax saving measure in Budget 2008 is the introduction of a new Tax-Free Savings Account beginning in 2009. It is the first of its kind in Canadian history. Canadians over the age of 18 will be permitted to contribute up to $5,000 in this account to help them save. This flexible, registered, general-purpose account will allow Canadians to watch their savings, including interest income, dividend payments and capital gains, grow tax free and remain tax free when it is withdrawn.
This budget makes strategic investments at a time that demands prudence, discipline and sound fiscal management with the government delivering on key issues that include:
• A permanent extension of the federal Gas Tax funding to municipalities large and small from coast to coast for essential and dependable infrastructure funding. To further invest in infrastructure, the government announced the establishment of PPP Canada Inc., a Crown corporation to work with the public and private sectors to support public-private partnerships.
• A further $1 billion in support for Canada’s manufacturing sector with an additional three years accelerated capital cost allowance treatment for new investment in machinery and equipment;
• An increase for the Guaranteed Income Supplement exemption from $500 to $3500 to support seniors;
• Implementing a new EI premium rate setting mechanism to ensure EI rates are managed on a truly break even basis;
• $350 million for a new Canada Student Grant Program, beginning in 2009;
• $22 million to improve the responsiveness of our immigration system and better align it with our labour market needs;
• $250 million to support the automotive industry to assist in developing greener more fuel efficient vehicles;
• $440 million for research and innovation to secure Canada’s leadership in the global marketplace;
• $400 million for provinces and territories to recruit 2,500 new police officers;
At the same time, a mechanism was introduced for strategic reviews of all department spending which will not only reduce spending but ensure value for money.
The budget referenced to additional support for Canadian farm families with specific emphasis on livestock and hog producers. The government is proposing changes to the Advance Payments Program security requirements, administrative terms and conditions, and the emergency advances component to enhance the effectiveness of the program. These measures would significantly improve access to $3.3 billion in potential cash advances to help producers cope with extraordinary market pressures in livestock. It increases the maximum emergency advance available to producers from $25,000 to $400,000 of which $100,000 is interest free. Producers can keep payments received under Agri-Stability and at the same time use cattle inventory as security for advances. In recent days the government also announced a new $50 million initiative to deliver a sow cull program that will help restructure the industry. Additionally, over the next couple of weeks, the government will be working with industry to review meat and inspection user fees to assess their impact on the competitiveness of the sector.
It is also a green budget and I’m pleased to see that it will have a positive impact on our constituency of Souris-Moose Mountain and the Estevan area in particular. I have been advocating for both post combustion CO2 capture and CO2 sequestration, including the use of clean coal technology and for projects to take place right here in Souris-Moose Mountain. The budget provides $240 million to Saskatchewan which will be matched by the province and used to partner with industry for a carbon capture and storage demonstration project at Estevan’s Boundary Dam.
The federal government’s investment of $240 million dollars in Estevan has the potential to leverage a $1.4 billion capital investment in the carbon capture and storage project. Without federal monies I doubt this project would go ahead. This will create and maintain jobs in the coal mining sector, at Boundary Dam for electrical production, as well as in the oil industry. The spin-offs from this investment will pay huge dividends to industry as well as to the city of Estevan and area. We need to be able to utilize coal for a low cost and affordable power supply for the residents of Saskatchewan and to meet the demands of continued economic growth in the province.
Bringing the Minister of Natural Resources, Gary Lunn, and the Minister of the Environment, John Baird, to Souris-Moose Mountain and engaging them with Saskatchewan’s Minister of Energy and Resources and Minister responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs and Saskatchewan’s Minister of the Environment, as well as the improved relationship between the Premier of Saskatchewan and the Prime Minister of Canada certainly has enhanced the potential and prospects for Souris-Moose Mountain. I am excited to see this potential unfold and will continue to work hard in bringing the right people together to make it happen. In the long term I see enhanced oil recovery in southeast Saskatchewan as a big beneficiary of these initiatives.
All in all, a great budget that is particularly
good for Souris-Moose Mountain. One thing is certain, Canadians
do not want our economy to slide back to high spending, high
debt and the higher tax habits of the Liberals.
