Roy Cullen, M.P.

Dear Friends,

On March 23, 2004, the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, presented our Government's 7th consecutive balanced budget, unprecedented in Canadian history. More than a fiscally responsible budget, this budget has taken the concerns and priorities of Canadians into account - and responded to them. This budget addresses healthcare, education, and social programs. Furthermore, we will continue the important task of reducing Canada's national debt. We will not leave future generations to bear this burden.

One of the key aspects of this budget is the strengthening of the comptrollership function and expenditure management system across all of government. This initiative will improve expenditure control and oversight. It will also help to prevent or limit any future problems like the ones we experienced recently in the now cancelled Sponsorship Program.

Health care is the number one priority of Canadians - specifically, the sustainability of Canada's health system. Our government knows that if we are to place our health care system on a truly sustainable footing, we must all work together. This budget reaffirms our commitment to work with the provinces and territories to reform and sustain our health care system. An example of this is the designation of $165 million in new money and a transfer of $400 million from Health Canada, to create the Canada Public Health Agency. This is a national organization that will monitor the 'big picture' by spotting 'outbreaks' quickly and mobilizing emergency resources to control them sooner. This way we will be able to better and faster respond to events like the SARS outbreak. More money will be available to the provinces and territories for immunization programs.

A post-secondary education is imperative in today's advanced economy, and is required for 70% of new jobs created in Canada. But not everyone is able to fully benefit from a post-secondary education. Our government recognizes this, and that's why in this budget, we introduced targeted measures to help low- and middle-income families save for their childrens' education. Announced in the budget was a $500 Canada Learning Bond that will be provided at birth for children in families that are entitled to the National Child Benefit supplement - generally families with incomes under $35,000. The government will top up our contributions to the bond over time, up to a maximum of $2,000 per child.

Our commitment to social programs has been strengthened. This budget proposes to accelerate implementation of the Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care by providing an additional $75 million in 2004-05 and $75 million in 2005-06. Over the next two years, we will commit $375 million to early learning and child-care. This will create up to 48,000 new child-care spaces, or up to 70,000 fully subsidized spaces for children from low-income families. The elimination of the GST for municipalities, effective immediately, will provide the City of Toronto with an additional amount of some $50 million each and every year-funds that can be redeployed to fight crime, and invest in public transit and affordable housing-and more will be done in the future.

I remain committed to fighting for communities across Canada, and especially for our own community of Etobicoke North. I wish you and your families happiness and prosperity in the coming months.

Roy Cullen, M.P.

T H E R O Y C U L L E N R E P O R T

Budget 2004: A New Agenda for Achievement

A nation as blessed as ours should always aim higher and reach further. Canada is in a position to be able to launch a new decade of achievement, and we began that journey with the first full budget for Prime Minister Paul Martin`s Government.

Tabled on Tuesday, March 23, Budget 2004 lays the foundation for a better future for all Canadians. This government has some very specific goals to create an even greater country, one that will give more Canadians the opportunity to succeed, to enlarge their ambitions and to pursue their dreams.

The Three Pillars

Prime Minister Paul Martin came into office with three clear objectives: to strengthen Canada's social foundations, to build a truly 21st century economy where there is opportunity for all, and to restore Canada's place in the world as one of pride and influence.

This budget puts us on the path towards those objectives - all without throwing fiscal caution to the wind, engaging in a pre-election spending spree or playing fast and loose with the economic progress Canadians have worked so hard to achieve.

This year marks Canada's seventh consecutive balanced budget - something that has not been achieved since Confederation. We are balancing the books and better controlling government spending. We're keeping our debt burden on a steady downward track, while strengthening financial management and operational integrity within government.

Added to this plan is a comprehensive, modern expenditure management and oversight system aimed at preventing the kinds of financial abuses that have so understandably angered Canadians of late. As a government, we not only accept our responsibility for what went wrong, we also accept our responsibility to get it right.

Included in this plan is a new system - through a new Cabinet committee - to examine on a regular, ongoing basis expenditures in every government department. The committee is setting stringent standards that every department will have to meet, and asking tough questions that every department will have to answer.

Some of the budget highlights include:

· $1.25 billion for research and innovation, including efforts to bring Canada's research discoveries to the marketplace;
· $665 million in new money, plus $400 million transferred from Health Canada, to improve Canada's readiness to deal with public health emergencies;
· increased weekly student loan limits and the introduction of a new 'Learning Bond' to help low income families save for post-secondary education;
· $270 million for new investments in venture capital financing;
· further tax incentives for small business;
· another $250 million for Canada's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and the ongoing international efforts to prevent terrorism, and another $50 million for our peacekeeping participation in Haiti;
· $605 million to address security priorities such as intelligence, border protection, marine and cyber-security and enhanced coordination of systems, information, threat assessments and emergency response;
· acceleration of infrastructure funding for municipalities;
· $4 billion for clean-up of contaminated sites;
· $15 million to help establish pilot union-based training centers to aid in developing workplace skills of the future;
· $30 million for employment assistance programming for the disabled and new disability tax deductions to reduce barriers to education and employment;
· the extension of small business programs to social economy enterprises and improved tax rules for charities.

This budget makes the initial payments we can afford to make now. In future budgets and future years, we will build on the steps taken today
With optimism, pride and cooperation, we can, all of us, succeed like never before.

Roy Cullen in the House of Commons during debate
of C-212

Bill C-212 - An Act Respecting User Fees

Roy Cullen`s private member`s Bill C-212, An Act respecting User Fees, was passed on Friday March 26th. It had passed third reading in the House of Commons last fall with unanimous consent and it has recently come back from the Senate with some technical amendments. It survived final debate and a vote, and will now become the law of the land. All Canadians will benefit from this Bill.

The purpose of Bill C-212 is to bring greater transparency, accountability, and parliamentary oversight to federal government departments and agencies when they attempt to recover costs through user fees. This includes more input from interested parties in the fee -setting process, improving the relationship between user fees and performance specifications and standards for federal departments and agencies, and creating an independent dispute resolution process to address the legitimate complaints or grievances of those that pay user fees to the federal government. Fees include those for passports, the Right of Landing Fee (ROLF), fees to enter a federal park, fees to access the government procurement system, and fees to have a new drug application processed-to name a few.

Bill C-212 is another example of the many steps taken by the federal government to achieve enhanced accountability on the way money is collected and to ensure that stakeholders are getting good value for the amount they pay to the government.

Roy Cullen Elected Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance

ETOBICOKE - Roy Cullen, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke North, was elected Chair of the House Of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. The election took place February 17, 2004 with the members of the committee voting by secret ballot.

"I am grateful to my colleagues on the Committee who placed their confidence in me to carry out the duties and responsibility of Chair," said Cullen.

Initially elected to the House of Commons in a by-election in 1996, Mr. Cullen was re-elected in the 1997 and 2000 General Elections as the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke North. He was elected Chair of the Ontario Liberal Caucus from 1998 to 1999. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Cullen was appointed as a Member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance in 2001. In June 2002 Mr. Cullen was appointed to the Prime Minister's Task Force on Canada/U.S. Relations and also to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. In December 2002 Mr. Cullen was appointed Chair of the Liberal Caucus Sub-Committee on Corporate Governance. In December 2002 Mr. Cullen was appointed to co-chair the Sub-Committee on Public Service Renewal. This is Mr. Cullen's first time serving as Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.

"I look forward to this new challenge presented to me, and for the opportunity to provide advice to the House of Commons and the Minister of Finance on a range of economic and fiscal policies of interest to all Canadians," Mr. Cullen continued.

The Finance Committee had its first meeting of the new session on Wednesday February 18th, 2004.