Dear Friends;

On February 23rd our Minister of Finance, Ralph Goodale announced our 8th consecutive balanced budget.
This budget delivered on many promises that we committed to during the election and since that time.

Sadly recent events in Alberta have overshadowed this.
Canadians were shocked by the events of March 3rd, 2005, and condemn the violence that brought about the senseless deaths of these four brave R.C.M.P. officers.

This terrible event is a reminder of the sacrifice and bravery of the men and women who serve in our national police force, and of the dangerous situations they often find themselves in, in order to make Canada a safer place. The Toronto Police Services, and more specifically police officers in Division 23 in Etobicoke North, are often confronted with similar circumstances in the line of duty. I thank them, as I know we all do, for putting themselves at risk to protect us and make our community safer.

This unfortunate event has again reminded us of the need for strong gun control legislation. The federal government, and indeed most Canadians, understand that gun licensing and registration is not a panacea for violent gun crime; however, as the article in this newsletter highlights, the gun registry is paying dividends. Law enforcement officers, the people on the front lines, use the gun registry on average 2,000 times per day.

All Canadians express their condolences to the families of the R.C.M.P officers who were killed in the line of duty - enforcing the law and protecting the public.

Yours sincerely,

Hon. Roy Cullen, P.C., M.P.

Gas Tax Revenues: Ontario will receive more than $1.9 billion over the next five years as a result of the Liberal government's decision to transfer a portion of federal gas taxrevenue to municipalities. By year five, Ontario will receive $746 million per year in stable and predictable funding that will mean better roads, improved transit systems and more sustainable infrastructure.

Immigration Settlement: Budget 2005 provides an increase of $298 million over five years for settlement and integration programs for newcomers to Canada. Ontario will receive approximately 60 percent of this funding. We will also invest $100 million over five years to take the next steps toward an integrated client service delivery strategy.

New Health Care Accord: Under the Liberal government's 10-year Plan to Strengthen Health Care, Ontario will receive $16 billion in additional health care funding. Of this amount, $13.9 billion will be core health funding; $194 million is for medical equipment and $2.1 billion for reduced waiting times.

Marine Security: Building on past investments and the National Security Policy, Budget 2005 provides an additional $222 million over five years to further enhance the security of Canada's marine transportation system. Funding initiatives include new patrol vessels for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, additional inspections, and the creation of Emergency Response Teams.

Roy Cullen speaking in the House of Commons

Tomorrow Starts Today: An additional $688 million will be provided for the Tomorrow Starts Today art and culture package.

Tax Relief: Tax reductions for individuals promotes economic growth by making Canada's tax system more efficient and competitive.
It does this by:

• Increasing to $10,000 the amount of income that all Canadians may earn without paying federal income tax. This will remove 860,000 taxpayers, include ing 240,000 seniors, from the tax rolls;
• Increasing to $22,000 the annual RRSP contribution limits;
• Eliminating the Foreign Content Rule, which limited foreign pension investments to 30 percent; and
• Eliminating the corporate surtax and reducing to 19 percent from 21 percent the general corporate income tax rate, thereby maintaining our tax rate advantage relative to the U.S..

Urban transit systems: The Greater Toronto Area and the city of Ottawa are benefiting from a $985 million investment to improve efficiency and help meet environmental goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic Development: The Government has contributed to Ontario's economic development through a number of initiatives:

• a $207 million investment in Pratt & Whitney to sustain Canada's position as a world leader in aerospace research;
• a $100 million investment in Ford of Canada to help it introduce innovative manufacturing processes;
• a $106 million investment through the Canada Research Chairs program, to provide research funding aimed at helping Canada meet its goals to be among the top countries in the world for research and development.

Great Lakes Action Plan: Budget 2005 provides a further $40 million over the next five years to bring forward the next phase of the Great Lakes Action Plan, restoring the area's ecological and economic development potential.

Multiculturalism-Anti-racism: $171 million over five years to celebrate Canada and to help Canadian diversity find its voice in communities across the country.

CBC: $60 million in 2005-06 for high-quality programming.

Border Security: Since signing the Canada-U.S. Smart Border Declaration in December 2001, Canada has made considerable progress on improving border security. Budget 2005 provides an additional $433 million over five years to strengthen the federal government's capacity to deliver secure and efficient border services. A portion of these new resources will help increase the number of officers at key border crossings and airports across Canada, including in Ontario.

Genome Canada: Budget 2005 provides $165 million to Genome Canada, a not-for-profit corporation supporting Canadian genomics research with five regional offices, including in the GTA. Over the past two budgets the Liberal government has provided $225 million to Genome Canada, which could lead to breakthroughs in the way we treat disease, grow crops and protect our forests.

Homeless and Low-Income Families: In July 2004, we invested more than $100 million over three years in homelessness projects throughout Ontario as well as $58 million to support existing and additional child care.

Early Learning and Child Care: Budget 2005 delivers on the Liberal Government's commitment to work with Ontario to build a high-quality, universally-inclusive and accessible early learning and child care system. This commitment translates into $5 billion for new Early Learning and Child Care initiatives across the country.

Seniors: An increase to the Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits for low-income seniors and a $15 million increase to the New Horizons for Seniors program addressing the needs of seniors.