May 2011 Parliamentary Report

PARLIAMENTARY REPORT

It has been an honour for me to share with you these Parliamentary Reports over the last two and a half years. I am grateful that you have chosen me to represent you in Ottawa for the next four years.  Thank you so much!

 

Our government introduced a new budget on March 22 which did not come to a vote because of the election.  This low-tax plan for jobs and growth is the second phase of the Economic Action Plan and builds on our economic recovery.  We will soon return to our work in Ottawa and will re-introduce this Budget.  Here are some of the highlights.

 

First, an item for which I lobbied hard, is the extension of the ecoEnergy Home Retrofit program.  This program provides grants of up to $5,000 to home and property owners to offset the cost of making their properties energy efficient.  This program was very popular and allowed many thousands of Canadians to reduce their energy consumption significantly.

 

Of particular interest to Waterloo Region are enhancements to Student Financial Assistance.  These include allowing full-time students to earn more money by doubling the in-study income exemption from $50 per week to $100 per week, allowing part-time students to have higher family incomes without affecting their eligibility for Canada Students loans, and reducing the in-study interest rate for part-time students from prime rate plus 2.5% to 0 (to bring them in line with full-time students).  These are only a few of the steps our government is delivering to help students pursue their education, career, and hopes and dreams.

 

The Children's Arts Tax Credit builds on the government's other supports for Canadian families, such as the Children's Fitness Tax Credit.  The credit will be available for a wide range of activities that contribute to a child's development but do not qualify for the Fitness Tax Credit.  Qualifying programs must be supervised, suitable for children, and either continuously operated or for a minimum of eight weeks duration or five consecutive days annually.  Canada Revenue Agency will make final decisions about the program eligibility.

 

Over 840,000 low income seniors, who rely almost entirely on their Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement, will benefit from the Guaranteed Income Supplement top-up.  This will deliver up to $600 more annually for single seniors and $840 more for couples. 

 

These are just some of the highlights. There are many other measures in this budget to support Canadian families, businesses and our country.  I invite you to go to www.fin.gc.ca for full details.

 

Again, my sincere thanks for your faith in my representation as your voice in Ottawa.  I look forward to meeting many more of my constituents over the next four years.