Advantage Canada and Progress on Passports

March 14, 2007

Advantage Canada…

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty recently announced Advantage Canada, a program that will create a climate for economic success by:

Eliminating Canada’s net national debt in less than a generation;

Adopting a Tax Back Guarantee and using the interest saved from the debt repayment to reduce personal income taxes;

Enhancing workers’ skills through post-secondary education and training;

Reducing the paperwork burden for business by 20%;

Building modern infrastructure such as roads, bridges and public transit through public private partnerships.

Advantage Canada will strengthen Canada’s position in the world and allow more Canadians to fulfill their dream of getting a good job, purchasing their own home and saving for retirement.

Progress on Passports…

On January 23, 2007 a new American law affecting air travellers came into effect.

Our government has responded to the corresponding increasing in passport demand by adding 500 additional employees. Staff are working around the clock to address the backlog and process the 21 000 applications received daily, without jeopardizing the integrity and security of our cherished passports. Hopefully the backlog will be cleared by April 1 and we will resume normal turnover time for passport applications.