First and foremost, I hope you had a relaxing and safe Christmas, Chanukah and New Year’s season. It was a pleasure to see so many at our annual New Year’s Levee in Dundas on January 2nd.  It’s become quite the annual tradition and we gathered a good collection of non-perishable food to deliver to the food bank!

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In December, I had the opportunity to speak with Larry Di Ianni on the set of Hamilton Talks on Cable 14. We covered a range of issues as well as a reflection on the year that was 2011. If you would like to watch the video, please click here.  

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As 2011 came to a close, we were very mindful of the economic and fiscal challenges gripping the Eurozone and threatening the global recovery. While many financial institutions are projecting that Canada’s economic performance will continue to lead the G-7, Canada is a trading nation in a globally-integrated economy. We are not immune to the turbulence.

For this reason, the Federal Government remains focused on jobs and the economy. Balancing the budget and investing in innovation are high on the agenda.

That’s why I’m pleased that on December 12th, Science Minister Gary Goodyear announced that the Government of Canada is extending the Applied Research and Commercialization (ARC) pilot program for another year.

ARC is an excellent program that is making a difference in accelerating innovation in the private sector. How? With limited resources for research and development, Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses need new strategies to help them bring products to market. That’s where ARC comes in. The program matches post-secondary institutions with small and medium-sized businesses to meet R&D goals cost-effectively. To date, 15 local small businesses have seen their technologies supported an ARC partnership with Mohawk College.

From my vantage point as Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology where we’ve been hearing from leaders in Canada’s digital economy, I can tell you this program is a winner.

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Budget 2012 is coming up and we’re looking for your input!  

In the coming weeks, we want to hear from Canadians on how we can best advance the next phase of Canada’s Economic Action Plan in Budget 2012.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty began cross-country consultations in December and they will continue into January. Watch for my next riding-wide newsletter to provide input through our annual ADFW constituent survey. Or you can go online at any time to provide submissions to the Finance Department at http://www.fin.gc.ca/prebudget-prebudgetaire/1-eng.asp.