The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced that the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan: A Low-Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth will be delivered in Parliament on June 6.
“A little over two months ago, our Government introduced Budget 2011—the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan: A Low-Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth—a plan that will continue to ensure Canada remains at the forefront of economic growth and job creation,” said Minister Flaherty. “Our Government is focused on completing the economic recovery. Canada has created nearly 540,000 jobs since July 2009, and our economy has grown for six straight quarters. But too many Canadians are still looking for work and the global economic recovery remains fragile.”
Minister Flaherty said the Government will stay the course with its prudent, low-tax plan for Canadian families, which will:
- Keep taxes low.
- Make targeted investments to support jobs and growth.
- Maintain growing transfer payments for crucial services like health care and education.
- Control government spending and eliminate the deficit.
Minister Flaherty said he will deliver the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, but never passed because an election was called before Members of Parliament could vote on its contents.
“On Election Day, Canadians strongly endorsed our focus on the economy, jobs and the next phase of our plan. We thank Canadians for their trust, and they can be assured that we will meet our commitments to them,” said Minister Flaherty.
Minister Flaherty said the new budget will restate all the same commitments from the March 22 budget, including support for our country’s most vulnerable seniors and family caregivers, help for small businesses to create new jobs, and assistance for Canadians to make their homes more energy efficient.
“The budget will also show that we are on track to eliminate the deficit and return to balance,” he said. “We restate our commitment to Canadians to ensure the spending of taxpayers’ money is as efficient as possible and this will be accomplished through the Strategic and Operating Review.
“Once completed, this will achieve $4 billion in annual savings and allow the Government to return to balance by 2014–15, one year earlier than previously planned. As I stated two months ago, the savings from the review will not be recorded in Budget 2011, but will be reported on and recorded in Budget 2012 when the review is completed.”
For further information, media may contact:
Mary-Ann Dewey-Plante
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Finance
613-996-7861
Jack Aubry
Media Relations
Department of Finance
613-996-8080
