Treasury Board President Reaffirms Commitment to Reduce Government Spending and Return to a Balanced Budget

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 4, 2011) - Today, the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for FedNor, delivered an address to participants at the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies regarding the Government's commitment to eliminating the deficit and balancing the budget in three years.

"The government has received a mandate from Canadians to eliminate the deficit, keep taxes low and continue creating jobs for Canadians," said Minister Clement. "This review will focus on responsible government spending to ensure ongoing value for Canadian taxpayers."

To help return to a balanced budget, 67 organizations are reviewing operating expenses as well as grants and contributions expenditures. The goal is to find ongoing savings of at least $4 billion by 2014–15. There will be no cuts to major transfers, to persons and others levels of government, nor to public debt payments. This review is an opportunity to modernize how we do business – to get government right.

Canadians have learned to live within their means and so must their government. There will be difficult decisions to make to meet our savings objectives. The return to fiscal balance is an ongoing process that we have to work on collectively through responsible spending and sound management of tax dollars.

The results from the review will be released as part of Budget 2012.

More information is available at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tbs-sct/abu-ans/tb-ct/sor-esf-eng.asp.

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This news release is available online at: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca.