Preparing Canadians for the Jobs of Tomorrow

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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  Greetings to everybody here from Fanshawe College.  Greetings also to my colleagues, Member of Parliament for London West, Ed Holder, from Elgin-Middlesex-London Member of Parliament Joe Preston and Member of Parliament Bev Shipley from Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.  Welcome to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, the honourable Diane Finley.  I want to thank Ed, Joe, Bev, and Diane for joining me here today and also, for the work all of you are doing on behalf of the people of the city and the people of the greater south-western Ontario region.  Also, greetings to your worship, Madame Mayor - we appreciate having you here today as well.  Again, thank you to the College for hosting us.  As you know, our Government's Economic Action Plan contains funds for the revitalization of infrastructure at both universities and colleges because we recognize the outstanding work institutions such as this college does for the young people of the country.

Ladies and gentlemen, forty-five days ago, our Government brought forward one of the most important budgets in our history, Canada's Economic Action Plan.  It is a plan that cuts red tape and ensures that targeted stimulus spending hits our economy quickly.  Our Economic Action Plan is designed to address both Canada's short-term needs as well as our long-term goals.  It supports workers and taxpayer to stimulate spending; it helps support the housing sector by helping first-time homebuyers and home owners with renovations; it puts Canadians to work, building bridges, roads, and other essential infrastructure; it supports businesses and particularly hard-hit communities; and it has important measures to ensure access to finance and credit for Canadian business.

It is a plan that focuses on Canada's strength and we should remember these strengths:  we have the best fiscal position in the G7; the soundest banking system in the world; low inflation and interest rates; and a diversified economy with abundant natural resources.  Indeed, Canada, according to the most recent IMF report released this week, is "in prime form" and "better placed than many" to weather the effects of the global recession.

But of all of our strengths, the greatest by far and the greatest as we look to the future is our people. Canadians are hard working and highly motivated; Canadians want to succeed.  And despite the challenges we face in a time of global economic recession, our Government is determined that they will succeed. That's why today, I’m pleased to highlight budget initiatives that will help Canadians get the skills they need to excel in the workforce of the future.  Under our Economic Action Plan, our Government is introducing two new job training initiatives and expanding two existing initiatives.  It is estimated that these measures could directly benefit over 200,000 Canadians.  Whether recently unemployed, looking to join the workforce, or simply underemployed, these Canadians have an important role to play in the future of our country.

Minister Finley will share further details on these programmes with you in a moment, but I want to make it clear once again that today's announcement is not simply about job training.  It is about more fundamentally where we are headed as a country.  As the world struggles with the effects of global recession, we as Canadians are looking ahead.  Despite the rising unemployment, we see today, the demographic reality is this: as soon as this global recession ends, our country will face a long run challenge of labour shortage.  Our Economic Action Plan is making the investments necessary today, in order to ensure we have the workers that will be needed tomorrow.

While the challenges Canada faces right now may be great, greater is our resolve to move ahead.  By looking forward today, and investing in skills training, we are seizing the opportunities that will get us through these tough times, and ensure that our country emerges stronger than ever. Thank you.

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