A strong foundation: Positioned to act for the future

November 12, 2008

We have been witnessing - and the Conservative Government has been preparing for - an unfolding financial crisis in the United States.

It is important to remember that these are challenges the Conservative Government foresaw and addressed to ensure we could have relative economic stability today and into the future.

Stephen Harper’s 2007 year-end interview was summarized by the Ottawa Citizen’s headline: “‘Challenging year’ ahead, Harper warns in year-end interview”.  At that time, almost one full year ago, Prime Minister Harper warned “the public to expect a “challenging year” as a global economic slowdown looms.”

He stated then that while the Canadian economy’s fundamentals are very strong, “we are an open-trading economy in a world where there is increasing economic uncertainty — in the United States economy in particular, but (also) some other parts of the globe. We are not immune to that.”

Our Conservative Government has a plan already in place to position us to go forward. It is the result of two and a half years of responsible leadership. Conservative policies have allowed Canada’s economic fundamentals to remain strong despite foreign instability.  We have charted a consistent course on economic and fiscal policy since the day we took office.

We made affordable tax reductions, reduced the public debt, kept spending under control and focused on results to protect our gains and ensure our tomorrows.

Our realistic plan of action for the Canadian economy is built on four principles: keeping our budget balanced, lowering taxes, keeping inflation down and investing to ensure we continue to create jobs.

And in three consecutive budgets, that’s precisely what we’ve done.  Low taxes, less debt and controlled and effective spending at the national level are a big part of the key to the long-term success of any economy.

Our goal has been, and will continue to be, the growth and prosperity of the Canadian economy, for the benefit of working Canadian families, now and into the future.

Guy Lauzon, M.P.