Liberals Announce a Plan to Strengthen and Green the Manufacturing Sector

(SURREY) Today Official Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion announced initiatives to partner the federal government with the manufacturing sector to lessen recent economic shocks and encourage investment in innovation and green technologies.A new Liberal government will create a $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Prosperity (AMP) fund to support major investments in manufacturing and R&D facilities to ensure Canadians continue to thrive in the global economy.

MP Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal critic for Competitiveness and the New Economy, said “After meeting with the key stakeholders over the past year, Mr. Dion found the consensus was for Canada to become a world leader in green technologies. This plan is an appropriate and timely response to the situation we find the manufacturing sector in today”

“It is this type of stewardship that helped eliminate the Conservatives’ $42 billion deficit and created eight consecutive budget surpluses, leaving the Canadian economy among the strongest in the western world. We need leadership like this now, more than ever, to ensure that we continue to attract investment and protect the quality of life of Canadians in the new economy,” said Dhaliwal.

Investments will be made in facilities that satisfy the following three criteria. The facilities will be required to:

• leverage significant private investment, and in so doing create jobs;
• attract significant secondary industries: suppliers, services, and other support businesses; and
• help position Canada as a leader in the manufacture of greener technologies and products.

In order to shorten the timeline for innovations to find their way from the lab to the marketplace, companies need to see a quicker return on their investment, encouraging them to put even more money into R&D. To accomplish this, a Liberal government will make the Science Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Credit, which encourages private sector R&D, partially refundable so that companies will be able to take advantage of the credit, even if they are not profitable in the short term.

“Along with deeper corporate and personal income tax reductions, these initiatives will boost our competitiveness in the world and lead to a more prosperous and green Canada,” Dhaliwal concluded.

Sukh Dhaliwal is the Member of Parliament for Newton - North Delta and the Opposition Critic for Competitiveness and the New Economy.

-30-

Office of Sukh Dhaliwal
604-598-2204