Vancouver Secrets

Harper Government Accomplishments:

Something for everyone in this informal ”Harper Government Record” list – last updated December 14th, 2008: Compliments of Crux of the Matter

(1) Accountability Act — passed April 11, 2006 (Link)

(2) Afghanistan mission extended to 2011 (Link)

(3) Age of consent from 14 to 16 effective May 1, 2008 (Link)

(4) Agent Orange compensation package of $96 million –$20,000 to all veterans and civilians who lived within 5 kilometers of CFB Gagetown in N.B. between 1966 and 1967 with illnesses associated with exposure (Link)

(5) Apology to Native people by Government of Canada on June 11, 2008 for residential school abuses (Link)

(6) Automative Innovation Fund of $250 million over five years (or $50 million a year) to developing greener, more fuel efficient vehicles (scroll part way down this page for source)

(7) Border guards armed (Link)

(8) B’nai Brith International President’s Gold Medallion awarded to PM Stephen Harper (Link)

(9) Canada Employment Credit of $1000.00 (Link)
(10) Child Tax Credit ($2000 for every child under 18) (Link to all tax credits)

(11) Chinese Head Tax — government apology on June 22, 2006 (Link) (Link)

(12) Chinese immigrant provision of $20,000 to every individual and/or surviving spouses who paid the head tax plus a $24 million towards an”historical recognition program”(Link)

(13) Community Development Trust — $1 billion to help communities suffering from manufacturing and forestry industry slowdowns and unemployment (Link)

(14) Debt reduction of $10.2 billion in 07/08 budget (Link) Has actually paid off $37 billion since the start of the first mandate (Link) Added November 30, 2008

(15) Registered Disability Savings Plan, part of the 2007 budget is set to begin December, 2008. (See this link for further details and eligibility requirements.)

(16) Environmental plan “Turning the Corner” released on April 26, 2007 to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants while balancing the needs of the environment and the economy, plus update on March 10, 2008 following public consultation (Link)

(17) Fixed Election Dates — An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act (Bill C-16), passed May 3, 2007 (Link) is an Act primarily for majority governments since minority governments can fall at almost any time when the opposition express a lack of confidence in the government.

(18) Food Labelling Initiative — to clarify and modernize labelling on food products, including “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” claims — to be fully in effect following consultations by December 31, 2008 (Link) (Link)

(19) GIS — Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors changed to allow for higher earned income (Link)

(20) GST — Goods & services tax cut from 7% to 6% and then to 5% (Link)

(21) Health Canada Website launched for parents on food and children’s products that have been recalled (Link)

(22) Hep C compensation redressed (Link re latest court rulings that clear the way for national $1 billion package)

(23) Homelessness Partnering Strategy — $269.6 million over two years from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2009 (Link)

(24) Homeless Research Demonstration Projects — In February 2008, Harper government allocated $110 million to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to find ways to help the growing number of homeless people who have a mental illness. (Link)

(25) Hydrogen Highway — Created a $1.5 billon trust as part of a network of partners for hydrogen fuelling stations for fuel celled buses and vehicles in British Columbia (Link)

(26) Immigration & Refugee Protection Act changes — to shorten time taken to immigrate to Canada — fully approved by parliament on June 18, 2008 (Link)

(27) Income splitting for Canadian seniors and pensioners (Link)

(28) Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (Link)

(29) Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission established (IRSTRC) with Justice Harry Laforme as Chair — with commission to begin on June 1st, 2008 (Link)

(30) Kid’s sport tax credit (up to $500 per child) (Link)

(31) Land Claim Agreements — a total of 54 were settled up to and including 2008 (Link)

(32) Lobbying Act — passed July 2, 2008 (Link)

(33) Manley Report approved (Report) (Link)

(34) Medical Alert Bracelets for Children — free of charge (Link)

(35) Mental Health Commission of Canada — established and incorporated as a non-profit corporation in March of 2007 (Link) (Link)

(36) Military spending increased to a post-war peak, including the delivery of four C-17 Globe Master strategic airlift aircraft (Link) (Link) (Link)

(37) Money laundering crack down on organized crime and terrorists (Link)

(38) Nahanni National Park expanded by 5000 square kilometers (Link)

(39) National Museums — $98 million for capital infrastructure projects over five years, with some urgent repairs starting immediately (Link)

(40) National Vehicle Scrappage — an environmental program by “EcoAction” to get vehicles 1995 or older off the road — started immediately and to be fully in effect by January 1st, 2009 (Link)

(41) Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement (Link)

(42) Ombudsman for Victims of Crime established (Link)

(43) Ontario-Canada Infrastructure Agreement for $6.2 billion starting immediately (click on Backgrounder here)

(44) Poland — Youth Mobility Agreement signed on July 14, 2008 that allows youth from either country to work and travel for up to one year (Link)

(45) Public transit tax credits (Link)

(46) Quebecois as a nation — a motion to confirm Quebec within a united Canada (Link)

(47) Randle Reef Clean-up (Link)

(48) Restored citizenship for last Canadian involved in WWI (Link)

(49) Saskatchewan Carbon Capture Storage Project (Link)

(50) “Save a Million Lives” international program for people affected by poverty (Link)

(51) Savings Account that is tax free (Link)

(52) Softwood Lumber Agreement (Bill C-24) (Link)

(53) Street racing crack down (Link)

(54) Students exempted from taxation for scholarships, bursaries and fellowships (Link)

(55) Student improvements to financing programs with 2008 budget of $123 million with 2008, starting in 2009 following the expiration of the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation (Link)

(56) Tackling Violent Crime Act (Link) (Link)

(57) Tax Back Guarantee — a plan to use interest sayings from national debt repayments to reduce personal income taxes, each and every year (Link)

(58) Taxpayers Bill of Rights (Link)

(59) Taxpayers Ombudsman (Link)

(60) Ukranian & Eastern European immigants — $10 million to educate Canadians about the internment in Canadian work camps during WWI (Link)

(61) Universal Child Care Benefit — $1200.00 per year for every child under age six (Link)

(62) Universal Child Care Plan (Link)

(63) Visa requirements lifted for up to six month visits — to Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary (Link)