News

Rob’s Column June 15, 2011

June 24th, 2011

It’s great to be back at work in the House of Commons.  With a strong mandate from voters across this great country, our government will be looking to implement important legislation to make Canada safer and to maintain our strong global financial position. 

Our first priority, as always, will be the economy.  We take our financial stewardship of Canada very seriously, and we will take measures to ensure a strong Canadian economy.  Continuing with our second phase of our Economic Action Plan for Canada, we will keep our low-tax policy on track, while working diligently, through responsible decisions, to quickly return our nation to balanced budgets and begin to reduce the nation’s deficit. 

To press home the advantage our country and province hold in the world economy our government will help stimulate the job market by; providing a small business hiring credit; through a program to support young entrepreneurs; through a reduction of red tape for businesses and through numerous programs to stimulate our nation’s business economy. 

In addition, the second phase of the plan will include support for seniors in the form of enhancements to the Guaranteed Income Supplement and further investment in the New Horizons program.  We also intend to eliminate the mandatory retirement age for federally-regulated employees to allow those who wish to remain in their posts past a largely arbitrary age limit continue to do so. 

In support of families, our government will provide tax relief for those caring for infants.  Taxpayers will also receive relief in the form of a credit for money spent on art or cultural items for dependent children.  Enhancing and expanding the eligibility for Student Loans and grants will help ease the burden on the family budget.  A strong and vibrant economy, in a country in a solid financial situation with a low-tax policy, will benefit all families. 

The elimination of the long-gun registry is also very much on our agenda, and we look forward to finally ridding our country of this expensive and useless program. 

Saskatchewan communities will continue to receive support from our Conservative government through numerous programs, including a significant reduction of the federal portion of Canada Student Loans for health care professionals choosing to work in rural and remote communities – a very positive step in attracting health care workers to our northern communities.  In addition, the Gas Tax Fund will become a permanent, annual investment of two billion dollars into our country’s economy.  Communities will continue to benefit from provisions in our Economic Action Plan which seek to improve and enhance our towns and cities. 

Safety is also a priority for our Government.  We will help ensure safer communities by enacting tougher legislation for those convicted of serious crimes.  Among numerous programs to make Canada a safer place to live are; a twenty million dollar investment in youth crime prevention programs, an investment to upgrade baggage scanning equipment at airports and an investment of thirty million dollars over two years in the First Nations Policing Program.  Across the board, we will make our country a safer place to live through crime prevention and tougher legislation for those who commit crimes. 

We will be making a significant investment in the development of the future of a cleaner and more efficient energy program, including eight million dollars for clean energy technology in Northern Canada alone.  Clean energy technology is the way for the future and investment in this field can not only improve our environment but also yield innovative technologies that could provide jobs and economic stimulus for our country. 

Strong safeguards in the field of the housing market have helped keep our country’s economy strong during the global financial crisis, and we will seek to ensure future security through legislation to strengthen mortgage insurance.  Conservative financial measures will keep us at the forefront of the global economy. 

Our government led the way to political reform by limiting the maximum amount of personal donations, and banning donations from corporations, to politicians and political parties.  To continue in this vein of reform, we will phase out the per-vote subsidy that federal political parties receive, forcing these parties to rely on donations from supporters, rather than taxpayer funds, to finance political campaigns.  Political parties should be funded by their support, rather than government money. 

Our Conservative government looks forward to enacting these measures in a measured and responsible manner.  Through consultation with experts and average Canadians we will make our country better, safer and more prosperous, as we deliver on our commitment to Canada. 

I would like to thank you all for your continuing support and I look forward to seeing you in the constituency.  Be sure to check your local newspapers in September, as I will be conducting more passport clinics in our region. 

To view more information on our government’s commitment to a stronger, safer Canada, please visit http://www.actionplan.gc.ca

As always, I look forward to your letters, e-mails and calls.  Write me at: Rob Clarke MP, House of Commons, 502 Justice Building, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6.  I hope you will find time to visit my website http://www.robclarkemp.ca  To contact me via e-mail use  clarkr@parl.gc.ca or call my constituency office toll-free at 1-866-400-2334.  

Rob Clarke MP

Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River