Brant MP Phil McColeman hosted a roundtable discussion today with local business, academic, and community leaders from across the Brant
riding
to hear their ideas in advance of the Harper government’s upcoming federal budget. The Federal government is consulting widely with Canadians across the country for ideas on how best to create jobs and grow the economy in the next budget, while keeping taxes low and returning to balanced budgets in the medium term. McColeman looks forward to taking ideas heard today to Ottawa where Parliament resumes sitting next week. “It was great to participate in what turned out to be a very open, honest and frank discussion with residents who are on the front-lines of our local economy,” said McColeman. “I look forward to taking what I heard today and sharing those ideas and suggestions with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance.”Participants in the roundtable discussion included representatives from the City of Brantford Economic Development department, Nipissing University, Enterprise Brant, the Grand Erie Workforce Planning Board, the Brantford Home Builders Association, Six Nations Economic Development, the Brant/Brantford Chamber of Commerce, and the Mississauga’s of the New Credit Economic Development department.
Discussions focused heavily on targeted skills development for the jobs of the future, tax and red-tape reduction, as well as additional support to attract foreign investment and skilled workers from abroad.
“I am a strong believer that the best ideas to grow the economy in Brant
and across Canada come as a result of talking to people directly about what works and getting their input,” McColeman remarked. “Indeed, many of the ideas we heard in these pre-budget meetings in past years have been directly reflected in the actual federal budget, such as our payroll tax credit for small businesses who hire new employees.”
In order to ensure that all Canadians can participate in pre-budget consultations, the Harper government has also launched an online pre-budget consultation at
www.fin.gc.ca.
