Archived - Minister of Finance Discusses Economic Action Plan 2014 With Ottawa Chamber of Commerce
February 12, 2014 – Ottawa, Ontario– Department of Finance
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty today spoke to members of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce to highlight the Harper Government’s latest initiatives in Economic Action Plan 2014 to support jobs and growth, while returning to balanced budgets in 2015.
The Minister called the return to balanced budgets a cornerstone of Economic Action Plan 2014, an achievement that will increase Canada’s economic potential, improve employment opportunities and raise the living standards of Canadians while ensuring tax dollars are dedicated to priorities like health care and social programs.
The Minister also discussed a number of targeted and affordable measures proposed in Economic Action Plan 2014 to spur job creation and economic growth in an uncertain global economy, including:
- Launching the Canada Job Grant and an enhanced Job Matching Service to help connect Canadians with available jobs.
- Introducing a new Canada Apprentice Loan to help apprentices registered in Red Seal trades with the cost of training by offering over $100 million in interest-free loans each year.
- Investing in programs to help older workers and persons with disabilities access the labour market.
- Creating thousands of new paid internships for young Canadians entering the job market.
- Providing $1.5 billion over the next decade for the Canada First Research Excellence Fund for post-secondary research.
- Further enhancing the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program to provide entrepreneurs with intensive mentoring and other resources to develop their business.
- Since the inception of Canada’s Economic Action Plan in 2009, Canada has achieved the best job creation record and one of the best economic performances in the Group of Seven (G-7) over the recovery.
- Responsible fiscal management has enabled Canada to remain one of only a handful of countries that continue to receive a triple-A credit rating with a stable outlook.
- Since 2006, Canada’s tax competitiveness and overall business environment have been significantly improved, with the result that Canada now offers the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment in the G-7.
- The competitiveness of Canada’s business tax system is supported by third-party analysis. The KPMG publication Competitive Alternatives 2012 concluded that Canada’s total business tax costs are the lowest in the G-7 and more than 40 per cent lower than those in the United States.
Marie Prentice
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Finance
613-996-7861
Jack Aubry
Media Relations
Department of Finance
613-996-8080
