Minister Goodyear Highlights Benefits of Economic Action Plan 2015 for Southern Ontario

CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 24, 2015) - Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario)

FedDev Ontario Minister Gary Goodyear delivered a keynote address today at the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, where he highlighted the Harper Government's latest initiatives in Economic Action Plan 2015 to balance the budget, support small businesses and manufacturers, support Canadian families and reduce taxes for Canadians.

Minister Goodyear outlined that Economic Action Plan 2015 includes key measures to strengthen Canada's economy by supporting small business, including:

• Reducing the small business tax rate to 9 percent by 2019-putting an estimated $2.7 billion back into the pockets of job-creating small businesses and their owners between now and 2019-20.
• Providing manufacturers with a 10-year accelerated capital cost allowance to encourage productivity-enhancing investment in machinery and equipment.
• Improving access to financing for Canadian small businesses through the Canada Small Business Financing Program.
• Expanding the services offered through the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada to help small and medium-sized businesses.
• Providing $14 million over two years to Futurpreneur Canada in support of young entrepreneurs.
• Supporting the Action Plan for Women Entrepreneurs to help women business owners succeed.

In Budget 2015, the Government of Canada also demonstrated its continued commitment to help families and communities prosper.

Minister Goodyear also hosted two roundtables and met with local stakeholders to discuss the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and investing in and supporting early-stage Canadian companies.

Quick Facts

• Small businesses account for 99 percent of all businesses in Canada, and employ half of the working men and women in the Canadian private sector.
• Since the depths of the Great Recession, over 1.2 million net new jobs have been created-overwhelmingly full-time, well-paying and in the private sector.
• Canada has had one of the best job-creation records in the G-7 over the recovery.
• Ontario's economy has added 445,200 jobs between 2009 and 2014.
• According to KPMG, total business tax costs in Canada are the lowest in the Group of Seven (G-7) and 46 percent lower than those in the United States. Low taxes encourage capital investment, which in turn spurs job creation. Bloomberg has ranked us as the second most attractive place in the world to do business.

Quotes

"Our Government is delivering on its promise to balance the budget and build a stronger, healthier economy. The Economic Action Plan 2015 outlines a number of excellent initiatives designed to strengthen and support our small businesses and manufacturers and generate significant job growth."

- The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for FedDev Ontario.

"The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce was pleased to host Minister Goodyear this morning as he expanded on the Governments budget, Economic Action Plan 2015, released on April 21^st. We were pleasantly surprised with the great support for small business through tax savings, and business in general with incentive programs designed to assist businesses investing in themselves. And the Futurepreneur program to support our innovative young entrepreneurs with start-up capital, learning tools and mentorship to help them turn their ideas and dreams into reality. A budget that touches every sector and demonstrates commitment and support to grow our businesses here and abroad. "

- Greg Durocher, President and CEO of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

Associated Documents

Speech: Minister Goodyear Highlights Benefits of Economic Action Plan 2015 for Southern Ontario

Associated Links

Economic Action Plan 2015

FedDev Ontario

Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

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