Dear Friends,

On January 23rd, 2006, I was re-elected as your Member of Parliament. I thank you for the confidence you have placed in me, and I promise to work to represent your interests at every opportunity and to ensure that your voice is heard.

While some things in Ottawa have changed, others have not. It is still a minority government. All political parties will once again have to work together to make Parliament work for the benefit of all Canadians. You can be assured that I will work towards achieving this objective, and I will do my utmost to hold the new government to account, especially in my new role as official opposition critic for Natural Resources.

Under the former Liberal Government, Canada experienced unprecedented economic growth and prosperity. Eight consecutive balanced budgets, and the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, are accomplishments we can be very proud of. Of course, there is more to be done as we move forward. We must continue the fight against guns and gang violence; we must work to preserve and improve our public health care system, we must finish the work started on a national child care program, and we must ensure that the environment we leave for our children will be clean and healthy.

In the days, weeks and months ahead, Parliament will be focusing on many of these issues, and I will ensure that your voice is heard as these and other public policies are debated. Thank you once again for electing me as your representative. Please feel free to contact me directly should you wish to discuss any federal matter.

Yours sincerely,

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

Conservatives Failing Canadians With First Budget

The Conservative government's first budget fails to address the real needs of Canadian families and move the country forward.

Given the strong fiscal record the Conservatives inherited from the former Liberal government it is outrageous that this government is raising income taxes, slashing spending by $1 billion a year without identifying which programs will go and excluding any real vision for the future of Canada's prosperity.

The Conservatives are throwing fiscal prudence out the window and spending savings from program cuts before they even have them in the bank.

The budget:

FAILS to maintain fiscal responsibility - bringing Canada perilously close to a deficit by eliminating fiscal prudence and spending budget cuts before they're made.

FAILS to provide real tax relief for low- and middle-income Canadians - Eliminating Liberal income tax cuts in favour of a 1 per cent GST cut has been panned by every serious economist in the country as a plan that will benefit higher-income Canadians at the expense of the more needy.

The Conservatives are hiking income taxes, which means many people who got a refund for the 2005 tax year will end up paying in 2006. The Conservatives are increasing the basic personal amount by $200 and increasing to 15.5 percent the lowest tax bracket;

FAILS to address the issue of climate change - this government has eliminated climate change programs and is getting set to pull out of the Kyoto Accord. Their transit tax credit is costly and ineffective. It will cost almost $400 million over 2 years and only increase transit use by five per cent. This translates to a cost of $2,000 for each tonne of carbon dioxide saved - 10 to 100 times the cost per tonne under our Project Green plan.

Furthermore, the Conservatives plan to pay for this and their climate change program - which is still "under development" - by scrapping $2 billion of existing climate change programs.

FAILS to provide a real child care choice for parents - As if $20 a week for child care isn't bad enough, low-income parents will be losing the young-child supplement of the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB). The Conservatives are cutting $1 billion from the CCTB, which was supposed to reach $10 billion next year.

FAILS to establish a real plan to create child care spaces - Rather than honouring the Liberal child care agreements - something that the majority of provinces, parents and advocacy groups have demanded - this government insists on forging ahead with a nebulous plan, which will mean provinces will lose the stable funding agreed to by the previous government.

FAILS to address the very pressing needs of Canada's Aboriginal peoples - Rather than honouring the historic Kelowna Agreement signed last November, which would substantially improve the lives of our First Nations people, the Conservative government has chosen to ignore them, cutting planned funding by 80 per cent, from $5.3 billion to just over $1 billion.

FAILS to make any significant investments in education and innovation - The Liberal government had a concrete vision that would have helped put us at the forefront of competitiveness and innovation. This lacklustre and visionless budget contains virtually nothing in this regard.

For example, for university research, our last fiscal update provided $2.5 billion. The Conservative budget provides $200 million - less than one tenth our commitment. And for student aid, our plan would have provided up to $6,000 per student for tuition over a four-year program. The Conservative plan provides only $80 for text books.

If the Conservatives continue down this road, they will undo all of the work that we did to put Canada at the head of the G-7. And in the end, only the wealthy will benefit, while those most in need will be left behind.

This is the hallmark of a Conservative government - do what it takes to win votes rather than do what is best for the country.