“Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Back home in Winnipeg later today, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will release our Government’s fourth report to Canadians on Canada’s Economic Action Plan. It will detail our progress on protecting our economy and Canadians’ jobs, income and savings during the worst global recession in half a century.”
“The economy continues to be our number one priority, and that will not change until the global recession is truly behind us. ”
“Funds from the Plan have now been committed to more than 12,000 projects. ”
“Approximately 8,000 have begun. They are sustaining or creating jobs for hundreds of thousands of Canadians, providing support for the workers and communities hardest hit by the recession and revitalizing our national economic infrastructure. ”
“In cooperation with our provincial, territorial and municipal partners, nearly all of the funding committed for specific projects in the current fiscal year is now being implemented. ”
“Nearly 400,000 unemployed Canadians have been receiving extra weeks of EI benefits, and 167,000 workers are benefitting from work-sharing arrangements. ”
“We have also introduced enhanced benefits for long-tenured workers and a new EI initiative for self-employed Canadians. ”
“And our Plan is working; our economy is recovering. Housing sales and prices are rising. Auto sales are increasing. Consumer demand is up. Employment is stabilizing. And Statistics Canada just reported that Canada’s GDP grew in the third quarter, the first sign of sustained growth since the middle of 2008. ”
“However, the recovery remains fragile. Far too many Canadians are still out of work. Too many families are experiencing hardship. And just as Canada was dragged into the global recession through no fault of our own, our recovery could be derailed by events beyond our borders. While Canada’s banks remain the soundest in the world, the aftershocks of the crisis are still being felt elsewhere in the international financial system. It is too soon to let down our guard, too soon to adopt any radical change in economic direction that could upset the precarious recovery.”
“Canada and other leading economies must stay the course by continuing to implement our short-term stimulus programs, continuing to reform the global financial system and continuing to resist the lure of protectionism. ”
“Canada has been a leader in the global campaign to preserve open trade. This has been an important component of my recent international trips. We have led by example: by unilaterally eliminating Canadian tariffs on a broad range of machinery and equipment and by vigorously pursuing new trade agreements in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia.”
“Since forming Government in 2006, we have successfully concluded trade agreements with eight countries. Negotiations are now underway with the European Union and the Republic of Korea, where I will be travelling soon. We also advanced our economic partnership discussions with India when I was there just recently. And obviously here in China, with its high growth rates and expanding consumer market, we want to further increase and improve our trade relations. ”
“Our Economic Action Plan at home and our trade promotion abroad are protecting Canadians from the worst impacts of the global recession and positioning Canada’s economy for strong growth when the recovery comes. As long as we stay the course, keep taxes low, keep expanding our trade networks and take determined action to wrap up stimulus spending when the recession ends, Canada’s long-term economic prospects are among the best in the world.”
“Thank you.”
