The Harper Government Record of accomplishments was last updated August 24th, 2010 with the entry on the announcement that the Canadian High Arctic Research Station will be built over the next five years in Cambrige Bay, Nunavut. See under “A” for Arctic. The List Now Numbers 55 and Starts Here…
(1) Age of consent legislation – from 14 to 16 effective May 1, 2008 (Link)
(2) Agent Orange compensation package of $96 million –$20,000 to all veterans and civilians who lived within 5 kilometers of CFB Gagetown in N.B.when Agent Orange was sprayed over a seven day period in 1966 and 1967 (Link)
(3) Air India Final report of the Commission of Inquiry — PM Harper apologies to the friends and relatives of all those who died in that disaster (Link)
(4) Apology to Native people — by Government of Canada on June 11, 2008 for residential school abuses (Link)
(5) Arctic Research Station — Announced in 2007, the feasibility study was completed in August 2010 with the announcement that it will be built over the next five years in Cambridge Bay, Nanavut (Link)
(6) Canada Employment Credit of $1000.00 (Link)
(7) Child Tax Credit ($2000 for every child under eighteen) (Link to all the family tax credits)
(8) China signs New Initiatives — PM Harper and President Hu Jintao signed a new initiative that built on December 09 Joint Statement — such as re-opening the Chinese market to Canadian beef products (Link)
(9) Chinese Head Tax Apology– by the government on June 22, 2006 (Link) (Link)
(10) Chinese immigrant provision of $20,000 to every individual and/or surviving spouses who paid the head tax plus $24 million towards an “historical recognition program”(Link)
(11) Columbia Free Trade Agreement — signed at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation meeting in Lima, November 21, 2008 (Link)
(12) Criminal Code amended (Bill C-14 ) — measures against organized crime, with 25 years for murder without eligibility for parole — passed on June 23rd, 2009, coming into effect October 2, 2009 (Link)
(13) Disability Savings Plan, part of the 2007 budget, it was fully implemented in December, 2008 (Link)
(14) Doer, Gary, former NDP Manitoba Premier, appointed — the Ambassador to the United States on August 28, 2009 (Link) — an accomplishment because it is a concrete example how the Conservative gov’t can be bi-partisan
(15) Economic Action Plan — 12,000 “stimulus” projects approved across the country, with 8,000 already started (Link)
(16) Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario – officially launched on August 13th, 2009 in Kitchener- Waterloo, Canada’s fifth such regional organization (Link)
(17) European Free Trade Association – Canada Agreement — signed on July 2, 2009 — between Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (Link)
(18) Food Labelling Initiative — to clarify and modernize labelling on food products, including “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” claims (Link) (Link)
(19) GIS — Guaranteed Income Supplement Improvements – for seniors, changed to allow for higher earned income – (Link) (Link)
(20) Governor General — David Johnson was just named as the next GG. He is a lawyer and academic and was chosen following a length and by-partisan advisory process, thus making it a gov’t accomplishment (Link)
(21) GST — Goods & services tax cut from 7% to 6% and then to 5% (Link)
(22) Haitian Earthquake Response – (Link)
(23) Hep C compensation redressed – for latest court rulings that clear the way for national $1 billion package (Link), as well as how to apply for compensation (Link)
(24) Identity theft legislation — (Bill S-4) — received Royal Assent on October 27, 2009 — for obtaining and possessing identity information, trafficking in that information or unlawfully possessing or trafficking in gov’t documents (Link)
(25) Income splitting for Canadian seniors and pensioners (Link)
(26) India-Canada Nuclear Co-Operation Agreement — PM Harper and Indian PM Manmohan Singh sign a memoranda of understanding that lays foundation for future bilateral trade negotiations (Link)
(27) Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (Link)
(28) Jordan Free Trade Agreement — signed by Canadian and Jordanian government officials and reported on June 28, 2009 (Link)
(29) Kid’s sport tax credit (up to $500 per child) (Link)
(30) Kuwait Foreign Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement (FIPA) — completed in April 2009 (Link)
(31) Land Claim Agreements — five-point plan for Aboriginal Canadians (Link) — to compare the years the Conservatives have been in power to previous years (Link) — 256 claims since the gov’t came into power, with 623 remaining (Link)
(32) Lobbying Act — passed July 2, 2008 (Link)
(33) Manley Report approved (Report) (Link)
(34) Marquee Tourism Events Program – part of the 2009 Harper government budget, it is intended to provide timely economic stimulus now and in the next 24 months. (Link) (See also the example of the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, which received $2.1 million dollars)
(35) Mental Health Commission of Canada — established and incorporated as a non-profit corporation in March of 2007 (Link)
(36) Military Equipment Purchases – As we discovered at the time of the Haiti earthquake, the Conservative government has purchased four C-17 Globemaster Heavy Lifting Aircraft, 17 C-130 Hercules, new battle tanks and German patrol cars, as well as several thousand trucks (Link)
(37) Northern Regional Development Economic Agency — announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 in Iqaluit, Nunavut (Link)
(38) Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement (Link)
(39) Ombudsman for Victims of Crime established (Link)
(40) Panama-Canada Free Trade Agreement — signed in Panama on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 (but still to be ratified by Parliament) (Link) Ratified on May 15, 2010 (Link)
(41) Peru – Canada Free Trade Agreement — adopted by Parliament June 18, 2009 (Link)
(42) Poland — Youth Mobility Agreement signed on July 14, 2008 that allows youth from either country to work and travel for up to one year (Link)
(43) Public transit tax credits (Link)
(44) Quebecois as a nation — a motion to confirm Quebec within a united Canada (Link)
(45) Savings Account that is tax free (Link)
(46) Self-employ Fairness Act — (Bill C-56) — provides special benefits to the self employed on a volunteer basis (Link)
(47) Softwood Lumber Agreement (Bill C-24) (Link)
(48) Street racing crack down (Link)
(49) Students exempted from taxation for scholarships, bursaries and fellowships (Link)
(50) Tackling Violent Crime Act (Link) (Link)
(51) Taxpayers Bill of Rights (Link)
(52) Taxpayers Ombudsman (Link)
(53) Truth in Sentencing Act — Bill C25 received Royal Assent on October 23, 2009 — ending the two for one credit for time served in pre-trial custody (Link)
(54) Ukrainian & Eastern European immigrants — $10 million to educate Canadians about the internment in Canadian work camps during WWI (Link)
(55) Universal Child Care Benefit — $1,200.00 per year for every child under age six (Link)
[...]
End Notes: In order for an item to be considered an accomplishment: (a) legislation must have received Royal Assent; (b) agreements must have been signed; and/or (c) policy changes, equipment purchases and/or announcements must be, at a minimum partially underway.
Also note that the “Accomplishments” post will be put ”at the top” regularly since this site is dedicated to that record.
So reassuring to read that list. All the negativity in the press (and even on Blogging Tories from time to time) does tend to affect one, and cause doubts as to the wisdom and vision of the government. Reading a list such as you have given us helps to balance things out.
We saw very little of the PM in PEI in the media, and so far, very little of him in the North… not newsworthy enough, I guess. But much time can be given to opinions and innuendo of his opponents, no matter how far-fetched.
Thanks for compiling this list of the government’s accomplishments. Boy, a majority would be nice!!
Thanks for posting the accomplishments of this government.
i agree with bettie that we need this list to be reassured during the bombardment of negativity from the MSM.
Thanks Fay and Bettie. It’s hard work but if the media won’t do it (aside from the Sun Group), I want to. The main challenge now is to get the URL out there so ordinary Canadians can read about them.
http://www.credentials.gc.ca/media/backgrounders/2007-05-24a.asp
You might want to consider this as well.
Thanks for that tip Canadiansense. That program is precisely why it is difficult to decide whether the Conservative gov’t is responsible or not. In this instance, the program pre-dates the Tories. For example, if you look at the Engineering example, they talk about what started in 2005.
However, I’ll look into it again later today to see if I can figure out any improvements that were made by the Harper gov’t.
Yes — thank you. This is an excellent list and an excellent reminder of what has been accomplished in a VERY, VERY difficult governing situation.
A lot of work but we appreciate your efforts Sandy!