OTTAWA REPORT

October 9, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Lois Brown, MP
Newmarket-Aurora

Fire Prevention Week October 6-12

Fire Prevention Week is a good time to ensure your home is fire hazard free. Following these useful tips from Fire Prevention Canada will help keep your family safe:

Kitchen
• Never leave your cooking unattended
• Avoid loose long-sleeves when cooking
• Check kettles and toasters for damaged electrical cords
• Use appliances that have an automatic shut-off

Living Room
• Always use a fire screen in the fireplace and open the damper before lighting
• Do not overload electrical outlets or use extension cords in the place of additional outlets
• Never leave candles, or cigarettes in an ashtray, unattended

Bedroom
• Install at least one smoke alarm outside each sleeping area
• Keep bedrooms as non-smoking areas
• Ensure at least one metre of space around all space heaters

Basement and Attic
• Remove all combustible and flammable materials from the basement and attic
• Store gasoline in well-ventilated areas & do not store propane indoors
• Have a professional check your furnace once a year

Support for Seniors
Our government remains committed to improving the well-being and quality of life of seniors and near-seniors through our programs, services and benefits including helping them keep more of their hard-earned dollars at tax time.
Seniors are now receiving approximately $2.7 billion in additional tax relief since our Government was first elected. The Government of Canada now provides Canadians close to $76 billion each year through Canada’s public pension system. Our actions for seniors include:
Doubling the maximum amount of pension income that may be claimed in calculating the 15% non-refundable credit from $1,000 to $2,000
Increasing the age amount – a non-refundable tax credit to help seniors – by $1,654
Offering Canadians the opportunity to split up to 50 per cent of their eligible pension income with their spouse or common-law partner to reduce their overall family tax burden
Instituting the largest Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) increase in 25 years to help Canada’s most vulnerable seniors, affecting more than 680,000 Canadians
Making a strong investment in the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) through an annual budget of $45 million
Addressing elder abuse including legislation to help ensure consistently tough penalties for offences
A revamped Information for Seniors portal at the seniors.gc.ca website brings together a variety of federal, provincial/territorial and municipal resources about relevant programs and benefits.

Call for Proposals
The National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) has issued a Request for Proposals under the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program (CAIP) to solicit applications for funding support from leading business incubators and accelerators.
CAIP represents a significant investment by the Government of Canada to support the growth and development of promising entrepreneurs and start-up firms.
The Request for Proposals is the latest step in the Venture Capital Action Plan, a $400-million strategy launched in January to help increase private sector venture capital investments in Canada. Economic Action Plan 2013 provided $60 million over five years to help outstanding and high-potential incubator and accelerator organizations expand their services to worthy entrepreneurs. The CAIP will be a boost to organizations that provide the tools Canadian entrepreneurs need to grow, innovate, bring ideas to the marketplace and create jobs to secure Canada’s long-term prosperity.

Staying on the Right Track
for Economic Growth

Canada’s economy grew (+0.6%) in July, including strong growth in the manufacturing sector (+1.1%). This was slightly better than economists’ expectations of a +0.5% gain.
Canada has now created over +1 million net new jobs since the depth of the global recession in July 2009 (almost 90% full-time and over 80% private sector) – the best job growth record among all G-7 countries.

If you would like to contact me on any issue, please call 905-953-7515 or visit my website at www.loisbrown.ca. I look forward to hearing from you.