Two successful pre-budget roundtables were held in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding last Thursday.
Federal cabinet minister James Moore, MP for Port Moody—Westwood-Port Coquitlam and Simcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leitch, parliamentary secretary to the minister for human resources and social development, were joined by Kelowna-Lake Country MP Ron Cannan to meet with local people in business, social services and the academic sector.
“Our government has been working hard to implement Canada’s Economic Action Plan creating jobs and keeping taxes low through some pretty tough economic challenges,” said Cannan.
“But the global economy remains fragile and it’s even more important that we continue to find ways to create jobs, keep the economy growing while returning to balanced budgets in the medium term.”
Cannan said many valuable suggestions were made during the discussions with an emphasis on addressing ongoing labour shortages through foreign worker programs, trade and skills training and effective employment insurance programs to support manufacturers.
Participants also recommended that the government continue to support innovation through science, technology, research and development, maintain infrastructure funding and sustain social programs and services that support affordable living.
“The best ideas always come from talking to local people about what works,” said Cannan. “Many of the ideas we heard in pre-budget meetings in past years have been directly reflected in the federal budget and have had an important impact.”
Cannan pointed to the government’s extension of the Work Share program, which helped employers retain skilled workers during recent downturns in the manufacturing sector, as a direct result of consultation with local companies.
“I am confident that if we listen to what local taxpayers have to say and act accordingly, we will continue to improve our economic outlook and come out of this global turmoil stronger than ever,” Cannan said.
Cannan encouraged those who did not attend the roundtables to join pre-budget consultations discussion online by visiting www.fin.gc.ca.
Cannan is also accepting input directly from constituents by emailing him directly at ron@cannan.ca.