Report from Parliament's Hill - January 8th, 2010

By Prince George - Peace River M.P. Jay Hill

“ Canada Plays Host to the World in 2010”


Inspiring predictions of wonderful things to come may seem cliché and even obligatory for a New Year’s article…after all who wants to start a brand new calendar year on a note of doom and gloom?  However, I truly believe that 2010 is going to bring many moments of excitement and hope.

Just looking ahead to major scheduled events this year offers a remarkable snapshot.  Canada will be front-and-centre on the international stage as we host four major events in the first six months of 2010 alone.

Of course, the world will be watching as the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympics get underway in February for 17 days of events with 5,500 athletes and officials from over 80 countries and 3 billion television viewers worldwide.  Canada will definitely be featured on the international stage with help from the 10,000 media representatives who will descend on our province.

Then the Paralympic Games get underway in March for 10 days with 1,350 athletes and officials from over 40 countries.

Our nation will once again be in the spotlight when we host the G8 Summit in June in Ontario’s Muskoka region.  Immediately afterwards Canada will host the G20 Summit in Toronto.

These important international summits are opportunities for Canada to contribute to discussions aimed at reaching a consensus on common global issues such as the economy, energy, the environment and security.  These summits also allow us to demonstrate leadership on the world stage and ensure we can promote Canadian values such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

While these major international events will generate considerable anticipation and national pride, our Government’s top priority remains our economic action plan to protect existing jobs, to stimulate new job creation and help families, workers and businesses cope during the global economic recession.

As I reported last month, there are very encouraging signs of economic revival but it’s a fragile recovery.  Our focus in 2010 is to ensure Canada is well-positioned for a true, robust recovery by returning to balanced budgets.

Over the next several weeks, our Government will be undertaking a cross-country tour, meeting with Canadians as we enter Phase II of Canada’s Economic Action Plan and leading up to the Throne Speech on March 3rd and the federal Budget on March 4th.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and a number of my other Cabinet colleagues, including myself, will be meeting with and hearing from Canadian families, homeowners, workers, business-owners and industries across the country about how best to meet our economic goals.

With the arrival of Spring here in Prince George-Peace River we can look forward to another very busy, job-creating construction season as the Stimulus Plan continues to be implemented.  All over the region, you can fully expect to see more projects get underway, building new and better roads, bridges, sewer and water systems, as well as community and recreational facilities.

I look forward to continuing to work with my constituents in 2010 as we seize every opportunity that these new investments and improvements can offer to build a brighter future into 2011 and beyond!

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