Prime Minister Stephen Harper consults ontarians on creating jobs and economic growth

January 07, 2011

WELLAND, ONTARIO – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today met with small business owners and working families in Welland, Ontario, to discuss ways to create jobs and economic growth as the Harper Government plans for the next phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. 
 
“With Canada’s economy still fragile, protecting and creating jobs, stability and financial security remain our number one priority,” said the Prime Minister.  “The values of hard working Canadians — living within your means, reducing waste and duplication to keep taxes low — will continue to guide us as we move forward. 
 
Launched in 2009, the Economic Action Plan has so far contributed to the creation of more than 440,000 new jobs since July 2009, and helped the country emerge from the global economic crisis faster and stronger than most other major industrial countries around the world. 
 
In Ontario, nearly 4,500 projects are underway or completed, including more than 20 in Welland.  Projects such as the twinning of Highway 17 in Kenora, improvements to Toronto’s GO Transit and the expansion of the Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario in London have helped mitigate the effects of the economic downturn by putting Canadians across the province back to work.
 
“The Economic Action Plan is working.  It has created jobs and provided financial security to families through the worst global recession since the Second World War,” continued the Prime Minister.  “However, the economy is more than just numbers.  That is why our Government will continue to create jobs and support families by continuing to implement the stimulus measures in Canada’s Economic Action Plan.”
 
Over the coming months, as the next phase of the Economic Action Plan is developed, the Prime Minister, his Cabinet and caucus will travel to small towns, communities and cities across the country to listen to and seek the views of Canadians on the Government’s long-term Economic Action Plan.