Brockville, July 15, 2011 - As the global economy continues to recover from the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression, Canada has emerged in one of the best economic positions in the industrialized world with the help of our government’s Economic Action Plan.

Indeed, Canada’s economy has now grown for seven straight quarters and over 500,000 net new jobs have been created since July 2009 – the strongest employment growth among all G7 countries. As well, both the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation) expect Canada to be among the fastest growing G7 economies in both 2011 and 2012.

While that’s positive news, too many Canadians are still looking for work and the global economic recovery remains fragile, as demonstrated through sovereign debt concerns in Europe and continued muted economic growth in the US.

That’s why we need to stay focused on what matters to Canadians – the economy and jobs.

Our Conservative government is doing that with the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan – A Low Tax Plan for Jobs and Growth which will help protect and create jobs, secure Canada’s recovery, ensure balanced budgets and improve the well-being of Canadians over the long term.

As we move forward with the Next Phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan and prepare for Budget 2012, I would like to personally invite you to make your voice heard.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance is inviting Canadians to participate in its annual pre-budget consultation process.

The Committee will invite witnesses to appear at hearings in Ottawa and in the communities indicated below. The results of those consultations, including committee recommendations, will be tabled in the House of Commons in December 2011. The suggestions by Canadians and by the Committee will be considered by the Minister of Finance in the development of the 2012 federal budget.

Experience has shown that, following a financial crisis, economic stagnation may occur.

Although Canada did relatively better that most industrialized countries during the recent global financial and economic crisis, the nation’s economic recovery is likely to be affected by a range of global and domestic factors and uncertainties: the fragile recovery in the United States, high levels of debt in some European countries, natural disasters, the withdrawal of fiscal stimulus measures, the impact of a strong Canadian dollar on various sectors and the rising indebtedness of Canadian households, among others.

In this context, and bearing in mind the fiscal situation of the federal government, the Committee is interested in receiving the views of individuals and groups about four primary issues: how to achieve a sustained economic recovery in Canada, how to create quality sustainable jobs, how to ensure relatively low rates of taxation, and how to achieve a balanced budget.

In particular, the thoughts and suggestions of Canadians about how to attain high levels of job growth and business investment in order to ensure shared prosperity and a high standard of living for all are being sought.

If you wish to appear before the Committee during the pre-budget consultations, please send an email to the Clerk of the Committee at FINA@parl.gc.ca no later than Friday, July 29, 2011 and indicate three locations where you are willing to appear. The individuals and groups invited to make a presentation to the Committee will be contacted by the Committee Clerk, on behalf of Committee members, no later than the third week of September.

The deadline to submit the accompanying written brief is no later than Friday, August 12, 2011 in order that the brief can be translated and distributed to Committee members. You are able to submit a brief even if you do not wish to appear before the Committee. Briefs should be no longer than five pages in length, should include an executive summary, should contain a maximum of three recommendations that reflect your most important federal tax or program spending priorities, and should – where possible – indicate the expected federal cost of your proposal and/or ideas on areas in which federal spending could be reduced.

In the event that briefs contain more than three recommendations, or three recommendations that contain a number of parts, only the first three recommendations or the first part of a multi-part recommendation will be considered by the Committee.

The July 29, 2011 and August 12, 2011 deadlines must be respected in order for the Committee to plan its work; consequently, exceptions are not possible.

The Committee hopes to hold public hearings in the following cities: Whitehorse, Yukon; Prince Rupert, British Columbia; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Windsor, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; St. John’s, Newfoundland; and Moncton, New Brunswick.