January 25, 2010

‪‪‪‪Four Years of Conservative Action for Canada

This Saturday marked the four year anniversary of the Conservative Party win in the 2006 general election. Since that victory, our Conservative Government has delivered real results. 

We have delivered significant tax relief for families and businesses, including:

·        Lowering the GST from 7% to 6% to 5% to put more money back into Canadians’ pockets;

·        Cutting income taxes at all levels to help working families save on their tax bill;

·        Lowering taxes for Seniors as a result of our introduction of pension income splitting and our increases to the Age Credit Amount;

·        Lowering corporate and small business tax rates to make Canada a more attractive place to do business;

·        Creating the popular Home Renovation Tax Credit;

·        Introducing the Universal Child Care Benefit to give parents choice in childcare;

·        And introducing special tax credits for children’s fitness programs and public transit passes, to name a few.

We have also worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians:

·        Passing the Tackling Violent Crime Act to get dangerous criminals off the streets;

·        Passing laws that prevent dangerous criminals from serving their sentences from the comfort of their own home;

·        Working extensively to end the wasteful long-gun registry that unfairly targets farmers and hunters, not criminals;

·        Taking steps to strengthen Canada’s Criminal Code, including tackling the ongoing problem of gangs and white collar crime;

·        Passing the ‘Truth in Sentencing Act’ to eliminate the practice of 2-for-1 credit for time served;

·        And introducing a number of new bills to make our streets safer and ensure the severity of the punishment fits the severity of the crime.

We’ve also taken steps to make politics, in general, more accountable to Canadians, by:

·        Banning corporations and unions from making political donations;

·        Reducing the amount of money that individuals can donate per year;

·        Creating strict new rules for lobbyists;

·        Appointing Canada’s first elected Senator, Bert Brown of Alberta; and, every new Senator we have appointed is committed to reforming the Senate.

We were elected to bring change. We’ve had many obstacles – the worst economic recession since World War Two being one of them. However, after four years, I’m proud to say that we have lived up to our commitments and delivered solid results on behalf of Canadians.  

Please feel free to contact my office if you have any concerns or issues you would like to discuss.  You may contact my office toll free at 1-866-333-1933 or at 204-326-9889 or in Lac du Bonnet at 204-345-9762.  You may write my office at 8 - 227 Main Street, Steinbach, MB R5G 1Y7, by fax at 204-346-9874 or by e-mail at toewsv1@mts.net