Beaumont-Mill Woods: A Good Fit

Remarks by Hon. David Kilgour, MP for Southeast Edmonton

Beaumont Business Association

Beaumont Protective Services Building

April 1, 2004

Check against delivery

From everything I've been able to learn since beginning to meet Beaumont residents at their homes a couple of months ago, Beaumont has much to be proud of:

• Beaumont is one of the fastest-growing places in the province,

• In terms of household income, I understand that it's the highest in the entire Edmonton region,

• It's one of the most crime-free residential districts in the province,

• Residents are genuinely friendly,

• Children are clearly a major focus here, Beaumontonians clearly understand, as Karl Menninger noted, that what's done to children they will do to society,

• A local developer I talked to this week had high praise for your town council in particular and Beaumont in general as an excellent place to do business,

• And your core community value of participation is evident in events like tonight.

N ew Economy

Beaumont has over 200 home-based businesses, offering everything from wedding cakes to hardwood floors. Bob Winterford, one of the founders of this group, is fully committed to exploring new economic outlets. You have  innovators in education and distance learning, educational toys and new agricultural ventures such as buffalo and elk farms.  Enriching the community is a priority for business people here-the skate park, which was paid for with contributions from local businesses like yours, is but one example.

DARE

You have an excellent DARE drug education program in place here-DARE is a program I strongly endorse and have supported since its inception. In the next few weeks I plan to meet with Sgt. Ron Platz, acting officer of the Leduc County RCMP detachment, and his successor Inspector Dibley, as well as Edmonton-area RCMP superintendent Brian McCloud to talk about substance abuse strategies they're pursuing to make Beaumont even safer.

In short, Beaumont has all the amenities of a large city with the community spirit and closeness of a small town. I believe Beaumont is one of the reasons the TD Economics Report last year was able to say that the Edmonton-Calgary corridor was "the only Canadian urban centre to amass a US-level of wealth while preserving a Canadian-style quality of life."

Edmonton-Beaumont

When the federal electoral boundary changes take effect, most likely this month, the town of Beaumont will be joining Mill Woods to form Edmonton-Beaumont. Some wonder how two communities, one that prides itself on its rural roots and the other urban, will co-exist in the same riding. One idea to facilitate interaction is to have frequent town hall meetings with your MP held alternately in Beaumont and Mill Woods.

Mill Woods is also a close-knit community, and I think the residents of both will have no trouble working together.  Nor should this come as a surprise to us as Albertans; the Canada West Foundation (CWF) has found that in general there is no significant difference of opinion on government issues between rural and urban Westerners.

Alberta Views

Some of these similarities in outlook include issues such as these:

Almost 60% of 800 Albertans surveyed recently by the CWF feel that our province is not treated with the respect it deserves in Confederation-- approximately the same percentage who think our province does not get its fair share of federal expenditure programs or transfers,

• Less than a third of the Albertans say they expect federal political reform in their lifetimes,

• Fully 86.9% of Albertans surveyed think the Senate should be elected with equal representation for each province, and

• Almost 70 per cent of Albertans think the federal government should make a greater effort to deal with Western alienation.  

Roger Gibbins, President of the Canada West Foundation, said recently "Changes are needed to the way the federal government is structured and how it operates. ...We are calling for a stronger western voice in Ottawa. Westerners want action and we're asking Ottawa if it is up to the challenge."  The Ottawa-West relationship must be repaired now. Prime Minister Martin has indicated often that he will not regard his period in office as successful unless Westerners feel ourselves full partners in his government.

The TD Financial Group study already mentioned had other points to make:

• The Edmonton-Calgary corridor is Canada's "Western Tiger," with a per capita GDP now at US $40, 000 - 40% above other metropolitan areas - and out-ranking all OECD nations except Luxembourg.

• The authors of the study predicted that the corridor could become the most prosperous and best place to live in North America.

• Royal Bank economic forecasts for our province this year project that again Alberta will lead the country in economic growth, fuelled by our natural resources sector.

BSE Crisis

The typically Albertan 'can-do' attitude is seen in our producers' response to the BSE crisis and ensuing border closure: some are working to establish producer-owned packing plants so that they are no longer at the mercy of the two major plants operating in the province or US plants now out of reach. Initiatives like these are part of a growing recognition that Albertans need to move always towards value-added industries, whether in food or natural resources.

As one who has pushed Western priorities in Ottawa for many years, this is one of the more encouraging times to be from Prairie Canada. The Alberta model of post-deficit budget management has evidently been studied closely in Ottawa, and our fiscal restraint was the order of the day in the recent federal budget. This year's budget is a strong step in a better direction.

The border closure hit a key part of our provincial economy, and is the top economic issue of concern for many of us. Recently, a number of Canadian parliamentarians, including myself, went to Washington and met with almost 40 Members of Congress on re-opening the border. It's clear that the emergency support for the cattle industry announced last week in Picture Butte will not make this problem go away. 

While the new aid package is substantially improved from last years', cow-calf producers and feed lot owners from across the province tell me that more is needed to support their industry. Above all, of course, the border must open quickly. The report of our Agricultural Committee was to be tabled today in the House of Commons.

Business Prospects

Our economy, of course, has experienced major shocks in the past year. BSE, SARS, drought, blackouts and forest fires in Alberta and BC impacted Canadians still dealing with the global aftershocks of 9/11.

There are also bright spots. Housing starts are doing well, including here in Beaumont where I understand there are over 150 starts per year. That's quite an achievement, and it's even more surprising given that Beaumont's population in 1972 was just over 300. Which community grew faster?

The Conference Board reports that business confidence in the fourth quarter of 2003 reached its highest level since the third quarter of 2000. And while the newly and rapidly strengthened dollar is a serious challenge to our exports, it speaks highly of world confidence in our economy. Across Canada, household net worth is at historically high levels

Why are we still doing so well? One reason is that Canadians and the world know that we are pursuing a sound fiscal policy.

Sound Financial Management

The 1995 budget of Paul Martin put us on the road to eliminating the deficit. Canada was then faced with a financial situation bordering on disaster.

It paid off:

• Canada went from being compared with third world economies by the Wall Street Journal to leading the G-7 in job creation and real economic growth since 1997,

• Our debt-to-GDP  ratio is at its lowest point in 50 years,

• The Auditor General, whose current work on the sponsorship scandal I wholeheartedly support, said in her Observations on the 2003 pre-budget Public Accounts that "the government has made major improvements in financial reporting that have established Canada as a world leader in financial reporting by a national government,"

• The International Monetary Fund and the OECD have strongly endorsed Canadian fiscal management, and

• For the third year in a row, Canada will be the only G-7 country to post a budget surplus.

Comptroller General

This year's budget advances fiscal responsibility, re-establishing the office of the Comptroller General to oversee rigorously all aspects of government spending. In short, the Goodale budget is a far cry from the usual pre-campaign ones, which seek to buy votes with the electorate's own money. It is an economically sound budget that looks ahead to the lifetimes of both an aging population and our children.

Taxation

Canadians want more effective government. We are in the fourth year of the Five-Year Tax Reduction Plan, a $100 billion cut that is the largest in Canadian history. We've seen personal tax rates drop over this time, particularly for families with children and low or modest incomes. The Child Tax Benefit, which recognizes the value and cost of raising children, is projected to be double what it was in 1996.

The pro-jobs taxation policy of the past four years has seen small business taxes reduced to 21%-- bringing Canada's total corporate tax rate (federal-provincial) down to 2.3% lower than the U.S. rates. The combined effect of these changes on our economy cannot be overestimated.

Support for Small Businesses

Small businesses are a key source of innovation, which translates into jobs. In the budget, the small business deduction limit is being increased to $300,000 by 2005, and the scientific research and experimental development tax credit has been changed so that more small businesses can claim it.

Canada's international development assistance program also provides new opportunities for companies and individuals here in Beaumont to enter this rewarding area. If this is something that interests you, please feel free to contact my office for more information and assistance (780-495-2149). 

Education

The Learning Bond is a major initiative to help families save and pay for post-secondary education. For qualifying families, each child born after 2003 will receive $500 towards education costs in their first year and $100 every year thereafter until they turn 15.

The Canada Student Loans Program has also been targeted for major improvements to help students overcome the financial barriers to post-secondary education and training. 

In particular, weekly loan limits will be  increased by more than 25% in recognition of the rising cost of education. The parental contribution expected from middle-income families will also be reduced.  Helping graduates repay their loans is also a priority.  This year's budget sees the income thresholds for interest relief lowered by five percent.

Child Care

Beaumont is a provincial leader in providing municipal day care: only one other town in Alberta has such a program. Over the next two years, $375 million will be committed to early learning and child care.  This should create up to 48,000 new child care spaces, or up to 70,000 fully-subsidized spaces for children from low-income families.

Integration

Integrating new Canadians better into the workforce is an important challenge. The 2004 budget triples the funding for a project to help new Canadians learn advanced English related to their area of employment.

Communities

The new deal for municipalities is a major new initiative in this year's budget. Communities like Beaumont drive Canada's growth, but their revenue is increasingly inadequate to cover their council responsibilities.

The $7 billion dollar GST/HST rebate will provide immediate relief. Mayor Ken Kobly tells me that that this rebate means about $150,000 in additional funds per year for Beaumont-a significant increase. The Municipal Rural Infrastructure program, especially designed to meet the needs of towns like Beaumont, has also been accelerated.

Education

Education remains a major issue. Statistics Canada says that only 43% of Albertans move on to post-secondary education--the lowest rate of any province. And while high school dropout rates have been declining, they remain above the national average. We need to make sure that in addition to attracting men and women from across Canada and around the world, we also prepare our young people to take part in the next economy. We all must do a better job of this-our future depends on it.

Health Care

Like most Albertans, I believe that the principles of the Canada Health Act should be upheld: care that is public, comprehensive, universal, portable and accessible. As you know, an additional $2 billion will be given to the provinces to help renew Medicare, with the possibility of more if clear progress in improving delivery of services is demonstrated.

We can all work together to find ways to increase efficiencies within the existing framework of the Canada Health Act. Additional funds are a necessary and on-going part of the health care system.  The principles behind our health care system are solid, and we must continue to search for innovative solutions for their practical implementation. 

Albertans have said time and time again that Canada's public health care system is one of our country's best features.  Opting out of the Canada Health Act would be "un-Albertan," as well as un-Canadian and needlessly expensive to Albertans.   

Reforms needed

Sustainability and accountability are the watchwords for improvement. New benchmarks such as reduced waiting lists will provide all of us with an objective way to evaluate the system.

In the 1990s, it became apparent that the Canada Pension Plan needed serious reform. In 1997, decisive action was taken to put our national pension plan on firmer financial footing by overhauling the way that pension funds were accounted for. As a result of those reforms, the CPP is now one of the very few public pension systems in the world that is projected to be sustainable over the next 50 years. As with the CPP, I believe that our health system can be set on a more solid footing.

In summary, this year's budget continues the record of taking responsibility and acting decisively to address problems.

Values

Permit me to step back from a discussion of the national budget and fiscal responsibility for a moment and talk about something much more serious.

The year before Canada began facing its financial problems in earnest, events on the world scene occurred which shook all of us to our core. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, and a Canadian delegation is headed to Kigali next week to take part in the remembrances. The real head and heart of the group, of which I'll be a part, will of course be our own national heroe Romeo Dallaire-- and his wife Elizabeth.

Dallaire, who spoke and acted heroically in Rwanda while most of the world just gazed on, has a personal motto: 'peux ce que veux.' It's another way of putting the Alberta creed of 'Can do.'  Periodically, he would send platoons into the countryside to provide help and obtain information. One came upon a village whose inhabitants had recently been slaughtered by one of the marauding militias. It was a scene from the apocalypse - people were dead or dying, lying in ditches, children decapitated. It was well known that this village had a high incidence of AIDS, and if the soldiers helped the wounded and dying they would face the risk of exposing themselves to harm.

The dilemma for the platoon leader was whether he and his troops should get out of their vehicles, get down in the ditches and help those who could be helped - at real risk to their own safety. Or should they just move on to the next village, and see if they could be of some assistance there? They did.

Later, the platoon leader reported this to Dallaire. The general called the troop leaders from the 26 countries under his UN command into his office. He told each of them the story and asked, "Would you get down in the ditch, and help out, risking your own well-being, or would you move on to the next village?" Twenty-three of the twenty-six replied that they would move on. Three, however, said they would stay and help: Ghana, Holland and Canada.

Dallaire, who recounted this incident to a prayer breakfast, then asked the audience a question: "Where do you get your values?" The question is as relevant in Canada as it is in Rwanda, because the values we have really do shape the choices we make. What are the values that shape our choices-- not just the choices made by soldiers in the middle of unimaginable horror, but the choices made by all of us, every day?

The values that shape your choices as business owners-- the commitment to shoulder your responsibilities, pay your debts, and give back to the community-- are a large part of what make Beaumont such an unusual place. This year's budget, with its focus on wise spending and planning for the future, reflects some of the same values. As Albertans, the question is, are we prepared to tackle the challenges that face us-reforming the health care system, renewing our towns, investing in our children's education, maintaining sound fiscal policy? 

The Beaumont town council has taken the time to work out its core values. As men and women responsible for developing Beaumont as a safe and viable community, they identified the following:

• Respect for individuals and each other

• Honesty and integrity

• Openness

• Willingness to listen

• Willingness to participate

• Commitment to the task at hand without compromising long-term integrity

• Receptiveness to new ideas

• Dedication to preparation

• Mutual support through positive feedback

• Speaking with one voice

Your Business Association meeting here tonight is an example of these values in action. You have charted a course that sets a standard not only for Alberta, but for communities across Canada. Who can disagree that your values form the bedrock of why "life is better in Beaumont?"

I look forward to talking with you further about these issues and hearing your thoughts.

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