For Immediate Release January 28, 2008
Conservative Government Marks Two Year Anniversary
Ottawa (January 28, 2008) -- Ed Komarnicki, M.P., Souris- Moose Mountain
January 23, 2008 marked the second anniversary of the Conservative Government being elected. After the Liberals were in power for 13 years and Canadians were bombarded with scandal after scandal, Canadians are relieved that this two-year old Conservative Government continues to maintain a clean Government that has and will continue to get things done for families and taxpayers.
With Prime Minister Harper Canadians have a
strong leader who knows where he stands and knows where he is
going. Under the leadership of this Government, Canada is moving
forward and Canadians can plan for the future with confidence.
Since taking office, the Government has delivered and achieved
real results for Canadians. Our actions include the following:
Finance
* Our Government has reduced the tax burden of Canadians and businesses by providing close to $200 billion in tax relief – which includes cutting the GST from seven to five per cent ahead of schedule.
* We have reduced the federal debt by more than $27 billion in the last two years and will reduce it further by $10 billion this fiscal year. We have also introduced a Tax Back Guarantee that ensures that debt interest savings are applied to further tax reductions.
* We restored fiscal balance by providing the provinces and territories with over $39 billion in additional funding to restore fiscal balance on a principled basis.
Justice
* The House of Commons passed the Tackling Violent Crime Act, which will protect Canadians and their communities from violent crimes and predators. The legislation raises the age of protection from 14-16 years and introduces measures to crack down on dangerous offenders, drug impaired driving and those who commit serious gun crimes.
* Our Government announced a National Anti-Drug Strategy which will provide $63.8 million over two years to prevent illegal drug use by young people, treat people who have drug addictions and fight illegal drug crime.
* We introduced legislation to strengthen the Youth Criminal Justice Act that provides new tools to ensure that young offenders who commit serious time are held accountable.
Agriculture
* Our Government stood up for western farmers and farm families by launching a plebiscite on marketing choice for barley and continues to work hard to give producers the right to make their own marketing choices.
* Our Government has invested in Growing Forward - a bold, market-driven vision for Canada's agriculture sector that replaces the Canadian Agriculture Income Stabilization program (CAIS).
Infrastructure
* Our Government delivered its historic long-term infrastructure plan: Building Canada in Budget 2007. When added to funding from Budget 2006, federal support for infrastructure totals $33 billion, the largest such investment in Canadian history.
Democratic Reform
* Our Government passed legislation establishing fixed dates for elections.
* Our Government introduced legislation to modernize the Senate including legislation that will limit the terms of Senators to eight years and legislation that creates a consultation process to allow Canadians to have a direct say in who represents them in the Senate.
* We have introduced legislation to improve the representation in the House of Commons for provinces with faster population growth while protecting the seat counts of slower growing provinces.
Public Safety
* Our Government significantly increased border security by arming border officers and ending dangerous "work alone" situations.
* Our Government made our communities safer by adding 1,000 RCMP personnel in our streets.
* Our Government has demonstrated its committed to effective firearms control. This is why we introduced a Bill to eliminate the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry and invested $14 million to enhanced screening of firearms license applicants.
Human Resources and Skills Development
* Our Government successfully introduced the Universal Child Care Benefit. It provides parents with $100 per month for each child under age six - that's $2.4 billion per year.
* We supported seniors by expanding the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) by $10 million per year.
Defence
* Our Government has taken a stand for freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law. We have shouldered our international responsibilities in Afghanistan by participating in a UN-mandated, NATO-led mission to bring security to the Afghan people while fighting the war on terror.
* Our Government is investing in our military: $3 billion program to overhaul our frigates; $1.2 billion purchase of 2,300 new medium-sized logistics trucks and associated equipment; $5 billion to acquire a fleet of 16 medium-to heavy-lift helicopters; four new strategic lift aircraft and 17 new tactical lift aircraft at an estimated total cost of $8.3 billion; 100 Leopard 2 tanks - their advanced features include significantly increased personnel protection against explosive devices and landmines; and the Navy will acquire up to eight Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships to protect our Arctic sovereignty.
Environment
* We have taken unprecedented steps to clean up our environment after years of Liberal inaction. Our Turning the Corner Action Plan, when combined with $9 billion Eco Action initiatives, will ensure Canada reduces greenhouse gases by 20 per cent by 2020 and that Canadians will have cleaner air to breathe.
Health
* Our Government has taken action on wait times, by introducing a Patient Wait Times Guarantee.
* The Prime Minister announced the Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan, a comprehensive set of proposed new measures that will make Canadians safer by legislating tougher federal government regulation of food, health, and consumer products.
* We demonstrated leadership by taking steps to have all parties in the House of Commons join in effort to ensure the resumption of production of medical isotopes.
Trade
* Our Government took care of keeping trade flowing to and from Canada with the Gateway and Corridor Initiatives: Asia-Pacific, Ontario-Québec and Atlantic.
* We have found more opportunities for Canadian products and services through our efforts to enhance trade with countries such as Jordan, Mongolia, Peru and other countries of the Americas. We have concluded free trade negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Indian Affairs
* Our Government, working with the Assembly of First Nations, is answering the long standing call of speeding up land claims through our Specific Claims legislation.
* We are successfully moving forward on our Action Plan on Drinking Water for First Nations Communities.
* Our Government is proud to deliver on the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.
* Our Government is working to bring human rights to on-reserve Aboriginals by ensuring they have the same protections as all other Canadians under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Veterans
* Our Government has, in just two budgets, increased annual federal spending on our veterans by $523 million. We also created the Veterans Bill of Rights and named a Veterans' Ombudsman.
Treasury Board
* We have brought in the toughest accountability legislation in Canadian history, the Federal Accountability Act, designed to clean up years of Liberal scandal and corruption. It has fundamentally changed for the better the way Ottawa works.
Real results require real priorities, real
action and a Government that gets things done.
Since coming to office, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been
clear about his priorities. He understands the concerns of everyday
Canadian families who work hard, pay their taxes and play by
the rules. With our priorities clear, our Government believes
that Government works best when it delivers on its promises
and only promises what it can deliver.
