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Dear Constituent:

I am pleased to inform you that our government has tabled Budget 2010, Year 2 of Canada's Economic Action Plan, in the House of Commons.

Canada has returned to economic growth following the deepest global economic recession since the 1930s.  The global recovery, however, remains fragile.  Budget 2010 aims to contribute to this recovery and sustain Canada's economic advantage now and for the future.  The budget plan has three broad aims.

First, it confirms $19 billion in new federal stimulus under Year 2 of the Economic Action Plan. This funding will help to create and maintain jobs, and will be complemented by $6 billion from provinces, territories, municipalities and other partners. 

This stimulus funding includes:

• $3.2 billion in personal income tax relief;
• Over $4 billion in additional benefits, training opportunities, and Employment Insurance premium relief to help unemployed Canadians;
• $7.7 billion in infrastructure stimulus to create jobs and for our long-term prosperity;
• $1.9 billion to foster the economy of the future; and
• $2.2 billion to support industries and communities hard hit by the recession.

Second, it invests in a limited number of new, targeted initiatives to build jobs and growth for the economy of tomorrow, strengthen Canadian innovation, and make Canada a destination of choice for new business investment.   

These measures include:

• Extending the length of the 6,000 current work-sharing agreements by 6 months to protect Canadian jobs;
• Raising the Basic Personal Amount (the amount you can earn before paying any taxes) to $10,382 for 2010;
• Staying on schedule for planned corporate income tax reductions.  This year, Canada will have the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment in the G7 and the lowest statutory corporate income tax rate in the G7 by 2012;
• Enhancements to the Working Income Tax Benefit, which reduces the "welfare wall" by making work pay better for many low-income Canadians;
• $40 million to launch a new Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Innovation Commercialization Program;
• Making Canada a tariff-free zone for industrial manufacturers by eliminating all remaining tariffs on machinery, equipment, and goods imported for further manufacturing;
• Creating a new Red Tape Reduction Commission to review federal regulations and provide advice to the government on areas in need of improvement.

Third, Budget 2010 outlines a three-point plan for returning to budgetary balance over the medium term and well before any other Group of Seven (G7) country.   

This plan includes:

• Following through with the "exit strategy" built into the Economic Action Plan.  Temporary measures in the Action Plan will be wound down as planned;
• Restraining growth in spending through targeted measures.  Towards achieving this objective, Budget 2010 proposes $17.6 billion in savings over the next five years; and
• A comprehensive review of government administrative functions and overhead costs in order to identify opportunities for additional savings and to improve service delivery for all Canadians.

As a result of the planned wind-down of the Economic Action Plan and the spending growth restraint measures in this budget, the deficit is projected to be cut by almost half by next year to $27.6 billion, and cut by two-thirds to $17.5 billion in 2012-13. 

The way forward that we have set out in this Budget is a comprehensive action plan to address the challenges of the present and seize the opportunities of the future.  Very importantly, it lays out an achievable and balanced schedule for restoring the fiscal balance and eliminating deficit spending in the years ahead.  Canadian families know that they cannot live beyond their means, and our government is no different.

This is a plan that acts on the priorities expressed to us by Canadians from across the country.  In our extensive pre-budget consultations, we heard that the economy remains the number one priority.  We also heard that Canadians were concerned about the long-term consequences of deficit spending.  With the measures announced in Budget 2010, all Canadians can be assured that we have heard them loud and clear, and that their government is taking decisive action on the issues most important to our citizens, to our community, and to our nation.

While securing the passage of the Budget will be our government's first order of business, we also remain committed to continuing our efforts to reform Canada's criminal justice system.  On March 5^th, I rose in the House of Commons to ask the Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice, what steps our government will be taking in the coming months to continue these efforts.  You can view the video here. 

I also want to invite you to tune in to my new show on Leduc Radio, Coffee With Your MP.  It will begin airing on Saturday mornings at 9 o'clock, and you can listen online by visiting Leduc Radio.  The first discussion will be on Budget 2010, and I will be joined by Ted Menzies, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.  In the future, if you have a question that you would like to be addressed on the show please e-mail me at: cupofcoffeewithyourmp@leducradio.com.

In closing, I want to sincerely thank all those constituents who provided me with their input leading up to the presentation of Budget 2010.  Your views have been invaluable in helping me advance our community's interests on the national stage.  In the coming months, I look forward to hearing from you on the measures introduced in yesterday's Budget, and any other matter you feel is important to you, your family, and our country.

Yours truly,

James Rajotte, MP

Edmonton-Leduc