News Release
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ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN 2015 DEMONSTRATES COMMITMENT TO JOBS, GROWTH, & SECURITY IN NORTHERN ONTARIO
OTTAWA – The Honourable Greg Rickford, MP-Kenora, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor) is welcoming the Harper Government’s Economic Action Plan 2015. It will support jobs and growth in Northern Ontario, help our families and communities prosper and ensure the security of all Canadians.
“We have kept our promise to Canadians by balancing the budget in 2015, the first balanced budget since the Great Recession.”
“Under our leadership, Canada has created over 1.2 million new jobs since the recession, but we live in uncertain times and the global economy remains fragile,” said Minister Rickford. “That’s why Economic Action Plan 2015 will continue our Government’s focus on creating more jobs and growing the economy in Northern Ontario and across the country.”
Economic Action Plan 2015 includes key measures to support Northern Ontario families and to support the regional economy, including:
· Cutting Tax for Small Business: Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to further reduce the small business tax rate down to 9% by 2019. Due to measures taken since we formed government, we have reduced taxes for small businesses by almost 50%.
· Supporting Families: Economic Action Plan 2015 benefits 100% of families with children by lowering taxes and increasing benefits. An average family will receive $6,600 in support per year due to measures our government has introduced, including Increasing and expanding the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) in order to provide every family in Canada with an additional $720 per year per child under the age of 18.
· Tax Free Savings Account: Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to increase the Tax-Free Savings Account annual contribution limit to $10,000, effective for the 2015 taxation year. There are now 11 million Canadians who have opened accounts to save money for their priorities.
· Supporting Seniors: Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to provide more flexibility for seniors by reducing the minimum withdrawal factors for Registered Retirement Income Funds to permit seniors to preserve more of their retirement savings. Economic Action Plan 2015 also proposes to introduce a new, permanent, non-refundable Home Accessibility Tax Credit for seniors and persons with disabilities.
Investing in Northern Ontario Infrastructure: Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes the creation of a new infrastructure fund as part of the Canada 150 celebrations, which will provide FedNor additional resources to deliver infrastructure funding in Northern Ontario. Specifically, Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to create a new dedicated infrastructure fund to support the renovation, expansion and improvement of existing community infrastructure in all regions of the country as part of the Canada 150 celebrations.
· Supporting Mining and Mineral Exploration: Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to allocate $23 million over five years to stimulate the technological breakthroughs needed to develop metals such as chromite and rare earth elements located in resource rich areas like the Ring of Fire and make them less expensive to produce.
· In addition, Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to extend the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit and expands the definition of the Canadian Exploration Expense to restore the full deductibility of community consultation and environmental studies undertaken during exploration as eligible for the Canadian Exploration Expense.
· Supporting Forestry : Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to invest $86 million over two years to support the forestry sector by extending the Forest Innovation Program and the Expanding Market Opportunities Program.
· Supporting Job-Creating Businesses: Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to support manufacturing job across Ontario by providing tax relief for manufacturers and funding the new Automotive Supplier Innovation Program. These initiatives will help create jobs and economic growth for Ontario.
· National Security: To ensure that our Armed Forces continue to have what they need to accomplish the dangerous tasks Canadians ask of them, Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes increase National Defence’s budget by $11.8 billion over 10 years. We are also providing new funding to help counter violent extremism and terrorism.
While we’re focused on creating jobs, Justin Trudeau has the same old Liberal high tax, high debt agenda that will threaten jobs and set working families back. Meanwhile, the NDP continues to push risky high-tax schemes like a $20 billion carbon tax that would hurt Canada’s economy and kill Canadian jobs. Only our Conservative Government can be trusted to manage Canada’s economy and keep taxes low for the people of Northern Ontario.
The Province of Ontario will receive record high transfer payments to support health care, education, and social programs. Specifically, Ontario will receive $20.4B in federal transfers this year – an increase of $9.6B (or 88%) from under the old Liberal government.
