19 October 2006
Niagara Falls, ON
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you Beth for your kind introduction.
Thanks to the 10,000 independent businesspeople who belong to the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario, consumers in this province have access to a wide array of insurance products at competitive prices.
In communities large and small, insurance brokers help individuals and businesses get the coverage they need and the support they need when they make a claim.
I also know that as respected professionals within your communities many of you are involved in local business, sports and charitable organizations (and maybe even in political parties).
And that’s why I’m especially pleased to be with you today.
For policy makers like me, one of the greatest challenges we face is how to ensure that we don’t lose sight of life in the real world.
That we don’t forget the big picture.
With all the hustle and bustle in politics, the pressures of media, bureaucrats and interest groups, you can imagine how easy it is for us politicians, especially in federal politics, to lose our focus.
And that’s why it’s important for us to get outside Ottawa and come to places like this.
So we can be reminded of the issues that matter to working Canadian taxpayers and their families.
And the values that make our country successful.
Values like:
Hard work and careful management of money;
A willingness to take risks and embrace opportunities;
A commitment to educational achievement; and
An appreciation of the importance of family and community.
These are the values that have made Canada one of the most prosperous and peaceful nations on earth.
And that’s what I want to talk to you about today:
The strong and sustainable performance of the Canadian economy.
As well as the revival of Canadian strength and security here and on the international stage.
I’m very pleased to report that we are leading the G-7 in economic and fiscal performance.
For international investors, the most important sector story I have to tell is energy.
And it is simply this: we are the only stable, democratic country in the world with growing energy export capacity.
As I’ve said before, Canada is an emerging energy superpower.
This is no idle boast.
We already rank fifth in the world in total energy production.
Seventh in global oil production.
Third in global gas production.
Second in hydro-electric generation.
First in uranium production.
We are the largest exporter of energy to the world’s biggest economy, the United States.
We are already America’s largest supplier of oil, natural gas, electricity and uranium.
The production from Alberta’s oilsands – the second largest proven petroleum reserves on the planet – now stands at more than a million barrels a day – on its way to four million a day by 2015.
As you know, energy security is an increasing preoccupation for countries all over the world.
Their traditional sources of petroleum are either drying up or menaced by political instability.
Every time a government somewhere arbitrarily reneges on resource agreements, nationalizes an oil field or uses energy as a political weapon, Canada’s stock rises as a stable, secure, reliable producer.
We’re an enduring democracy that believes in free markets and binding contracts.
But with the power or energy production also comes responsibility, and especially, environmental responsibility.
Today, in Parliament, we will take Canada’s first national Clean Air Act.
It is the country’s first long-term plan to regulate, control and reduce both air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
And it will do so by laying the groundwork for Canada to be a leader in the development of clean energy technology.
The demand for all our resources – not just energy but also the vast mineral wealth in the Canadian Shield – is only going to increase as the giant Asian economies of India and China continue their rush toward industrialization.
The potential for Canada’s long-term economic growth is truly breathtaking.
Of course, we also face some serious economic challenges, as you well know in this region.
Asian industrialization has meant tough competition for Canadian manufacturers from companies based in low-wage countries.
That is why it is so important that we keep the economic fundamentals of our country strong.
We have maintained low inflation, solid growth, and the lowest unemployment rates of the last three decades.
Because of these fundamentals, we can turn our attention to specific challenges.
Canada’s New Government is resolved to build on our inherent economic strengths with common sense policies. We are:
Keeping taxes low and, where possible, getting them lower
Focussing our spending on priorities and controlling its growth
Paying down debt, and
Investing in long-term growth drivers things like education and infrastructure.
This spring, we tabled Canada’s ninth consecutive balanced budget.
Last month we applied the budget surplus of $13.2 billion to one of the largest national debt reductions in Canadian history.
As a result, we’re saving almost $650 million each and every year in interest payments and we’re on track to reduce the federal debt-to-GDP ratio from 35% to 25% within seven years.
We have the lowest net debt burden of all the G7 countries, and almost every one of them is headed further into debt – the opposite direction from Canada.
I wish I could say Canada has been equally competitive in delivering the lowest tax rates in the G-7, but in fact we have some catching up to do.
Our first budget launched the process. It lowered taxes on individuals and businesses while maintaining a balanced budget;
It included 29 separate tax cuts worth $20 billion over the next two years, more tax relief than the last four budgets combined.
As we said we would, on July 1 we cut the GST from 7 to 6%. It ensures that everyone benefits from tax reduction.
Our income tax reductions will remove over 650,000 low-income Canadians from the tax rolls altogether.
And our new tax credits for public transit users, children’s sports programs, workers’ tools, students’ books as well as employment and pension income will help the environment, improve public health and give commuters, employees, students and seniors tax breaks they need and deserve.
Our budget accelerated corporate tax reductions which had been delayed by the previous government, introduced cuts to the small business rate and the threshold at which it applies, and allowed us to move up the elimination of the federal capital tax entirely.
As a result of these measures, Ottawa’s tax burden is occupying an ever smaller share of the national economy.
Under the previous government, federal program spending had been growing by an average of 8.3% a year in the five years before we took office.
The reality is that is simply not sustainable. Nor is it a sign of good management of taxpayer dollars.
We’re on track to cut that number in half by next year, partly because of the billions we recently cut from activities that were unnecessary, inefficient or not providing value for money.
And this has allowed us to make important new investments in infrastructure, child care, post-secondary education, criminal justice and national defence, among others.
For example, we created the new Universal Child Care Benefit. It redirects government spending away from daycare lobbyists, researchers and so-called experts.
And it delivers expanded resources to the real child experts, whose names are Mom and Dad.
In short, ladies and gentlemen, Canada’s back: We’re on the best economic footing of any of the G7 countries.
But we will not stop here. We will accelerate this virtuous cycle.
We will continue to pay down debt.
We will continue to reduce taxes on individuals and businesses.
We will continue to carefully manage expenditures and invest in priorities.
These measures will make our economy even stronger which, in turn, will make Canada an even more attractive destination for foreign direct investment – investment which will be welcome.
And it will boost our status, importance and influence in the world economy – which will be good for Canada and the world.
The groundwork for the enviable position we find ourselves in today was laid nearly 20 years ago.
That’s when the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement of 1988 set our country on a course for prosperity.
But it did something even more important. Many of you will remember how passionate the debate over free trade was that year.
It was an epic philosophical battle between those who believed in building the economy by expanding government versus those who believed in doing so through freer markets.
The election of 1988 did not just ratify the FTA, it effectively overthrew the economic-policy status quo that had ruled Canada since the 1960s.
It signalled that Canadians were ready to compete with the world.
That we were ready to get the nation’s fiscal house in order.
And that the state, while it would by no means wither and vanish, had to become focused and efficient.
This was a watershed moment in our nation’s history that brought us to the gains we are seeing today.
Where Canadians are not just proud of their country but also confident about its future.
Where we are willing and able to compete with the world’s best in all fields of human endeavour.
And we are prepared to take a leading role in bringing peace and prosperity to the all-too-numerous impoverished, unstable, violence-plagued countries of the world.
Just as we decided in 1988 to work for a more secure and prosperous North America, we now need to work for a more stable and just world.
That’s why Canada is working closely with its democratic allies in the global war against terrorism.
Why we are taking a leadership role in the international effort to choke off terrorist financing – in fact, those efforts will be headquartered in Toronto.
It’s why we are investing in new defence capabilities - to ensure, wherever they are needed alongside the international community, that the Canadian Forces have the equipment they need to protect themselves and to their work.
It’s why our defence personnel, development workers and diplomats have been in Afghanistan as part of the United Nations mission for these past five years, taking a leadership role, ensuring it will never attack North America again, and making it secure, democratic and prosperous for the people who live there,
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure not everyone in this room, and certainly not everyone in this country, agrees with everything our government has done or has committed to do.
Some have criticized us, for example, for the various initiatives we have undertaken to tackle crime – like ending house arrest for serious crimes, cracking down on street racing, proposing mandatory prison terms for gun crimes, or raising the age of protection from sexual exploitation from 14 to 16 years old.
This week, when Justice Minister Vic Toews introduced our new Dangerous Offenders legislation that would give the courts the option to lock up indefinitely someone convicted for the third time of a serious, violent criminal act, the Opposition accused of not respecting the rights of criminals.
Well, they’re entitled to their opinion, but Canadians asked us to protect our streets and our society, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
But, in general, the response we’re getting, even from people who vigorously disagree with some aspect of our program, is that they appreciate that Canada finally has a government that delivers on its commitments.
That says what it means, and means what it says.
In the letter your Chief Operating Officer Randy Carroll wrote to invite me to speak at this convention, he said your Association is extremely thankful that our government has upheld the position we took during the election campaign against direct selling of insurance products by the banks.
To which I would say, there’s no need to be thankful.
We made a commitment, and we stuck to it. It’s as simple as that.
And, to the best of our ability, that’s what Canadians can expect from our government for as long as they entrust us with the responsibility to lead this great country.
Thank you.
God Bless Canada.
