REPORT FROM PARLIAMENT

It is no secret that the pinch of the global economic crisis has been felt by families in communities like ours across the country. However, your Conservative Government has been aware of the situation and has been pro-actively searching and implementing solutions that both stimulate the economy and help job seekers find employment.

To help ensure that more Canadian workers are able to keep their current jobs, your Conservative government is expanding the use of work-sharing agreements. Work-sharing agreements help companies avoid laying off workers during tough times. This means that fewer families will face the stress of layoffs and more companies will keep their valuable, experienced employees.

For business owners, the Employment Insurance premium payment is the most expensive part of creating a new job. To help keep Canadian businesses competitive, your Conservative government has committed to freezing Employment Insurance premiums at their lowest levels since 1982 for the next two years.

We have adjusted EI for long tenured workers so they can receive up to 20 weeks of additional benefits, depending on how long an eligible individual has been working and paying into EI. These measures will help ensure that these workers who have paid into the EI system for years are provided the help they need while they search for new employment.

We are just beginning to see the subtle signs of improvement. Statistics Canada reported that over 27,000 new jobs were created in August. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced that the construction of new homes has gone up by 12%. As well, the Bank of Canada says that our economy is on the right track for recovery.

But this is not the case everywhere. As the world is still amid the grips of the global recession, many other countries are still feeling the effects. While Canada is generating jobs, the United States – our largest trading partner – lost another 216,000.

We can credit Canada’s signs of recovery to the Conservative Government’s Economic Action Plan helping to keep and create jobs across the country. This year and the next, our government is investing $9.8 billion into infrastructure projects such as roads, water treatment plants, sewer systems and other community projects. These initiatives help create jobs for local trades-people and encourage the right kind of spending right across the country.

While we continue to recover from the economic downturn, your Conservative Government will continue to use the Economic Action Plan to fight the recession and work in the best interest of you and your family.

Hon. Gerry Ritz is the Member of Parliament for Battlefords-Lloydminster www.gerryritzmp.ca