Ottawa, ON – Dean Del Mastro, Member of Parliament for Peterborough and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister welcomes the confirmation of support for the Shining Waters Railway and other programs and initiatives included in the 2011 Federal Budget Update.

“I could not be more pleased to see that the Shining Waters Railway is indeed a priority of this Government as indicated in yesterday’s 2011 Budget Update.” stated MP Del Mastro. (page 103 of Budget 2011)  “This is the next necessary and critical step in the re-introduction of passenger rail services between Peterborough and Ottawa.”

Additionally, the 2011 Budget Update clearly sets out a responsible roadmap back to a balanced fiscal position and, Canada’s strong economic performance has allowed for reasonable and responsible new programs and initiatives to be undertaken.  The priorities for these new investments are very much in-line with those articulated by the dozens of groups that participated in MP Del Mastro’s pre-budget consultation this past January.

“I am very pleased to see that we will be delivering on our promises to provide a temporary Hiring Credit for Small Business to encourage additional hiring by this vital sector.” stated MP Del Mastro.  “We will also enhance the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for those seniors who rely almost exclusively on their Old Age Security and the GIS and may therefore be at risk of experiencing financial difficulties.  We will introduce a Family Caregiver Tax Credit and Children’s Arts Tax Credit to support Canadian families and, constituents will also be pleased to hear that we have approved the extension of the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program that will help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient and reduce the burden of high energy costs.  These are just a few of the programs and initiatives included in the 2011 Budget Update.  I encourage everyone to read the document to see how these changes will have a positive effect on our families and communities.”