Ron recently visited Campion Marine Inc. in Kelowna to tour their facilities and gain a greater appreciation for the product they manufacture as well as to hear firsthand the challenges they are facing.

Brock Elliott, General Manager, Campion Marine Inc told Ron that, “Today, we are most concerned by the Bank’s (Bank of Canada) stance, that being to allow the Canadian dollar to appreciate to unprecedented levels to the US dollar… Manufacturing is obviously suffering and going to suffer even more”. Mr. Cannan assured Mr. Elliot that these concerns and similar concerns of others in the manufacturing sector are not falling on deaf ears.

Mr. Cannan has subsequently met with the Prime Minister and informed him of the discussions that he had with Mr. Elliott and his concerns. Prime Minister Harper and Mr. Cannan share Mr. Elliott’s concern’s not only for the Canadian dollar’s appreciation but for the rapidity of its rise. “The dollar needs a period of stability in order for manufactures to adapt. The Government recognizes the challenges that manufacturers are facing as the Canadian dollar appreciates”, Mr. Cannan stated.

The Government however, does not set the monetary policy for the country. The Bank of Canada is responsible for the conduct of monetary policy and considers a broad range of economic and financial conditions in setting monetary policy.
Our government has full confidence in the Bank of Canada. The Minister of Finance is in regular contact with the Governor of the Bank of Canada.

The Government has however taken several steps to support a climate of success for Canadian business and manufacturers. Our measures in Budget 2006 and 2007 to reduce corporate and personal taxes, when combined with our long-term economic plan Advantage Canada, make Canada an even better place for businesses to compete nationally and internationally.

The new accelerated capital cost allowance for manufacturers will allow them to write off their investments in equipment over two years to encourage new economic investment and to create jobs. This is a $1.3 billion shot of adrenaline for manufacturers.

We are increasing the capital cost allowance rate from four to 10 per cent for buildings used in manufacturing and processing, and from 45 to 55 per cent for computers.

The reduction of the GST from seven to five per cent, when combined with the cuts in personal income tax in the Economic and Fiscal Update, will also give more spending power to Canadians who can then buy more products made by our manufacturers.

In fact, in the past 21 months, we ensured that over $190 billion in taxes would be cut and stay in the pockets of Canadians, including an historic tax relief package of $60 billion.

In our recent Economic Statement, we announced the rapid reduction of the corporate tax rate by 2.6 percentage points, from 22.1 per cent to 19.5 per cent, starting January 1, 2008. This will be followed by ongoing reductions that will bring the tax rate to 15 per cent by 2012. With these reductions, Canada’s corporate tax rate will become the lowest among the major industrialized economies.

Our Government has also delivered action to the manufacturing sector with initiatives such as:

• An historic infrastructure investment of $33 billion with the Building Canada Plan;

• A $1.9 billion National Science and Technology strategy;

• An investment of $127.5 million in the Forest Industry Long-Term Competitiveness Initiative to promote innovation and investment in the forest sector; and

• A $72.5 million investment towards the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW) who will help forest employees who live and work in vulnerable communities.