Federal finance minister in Calgary
Posted Jan 11, 2012 10:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada’s finance minister says the 2012 budget will be about jobs and economic growth.
In Calgary for pre-budget consultations with major corporate leaders, Jim Flaherty made no predictions about what he expects to see in the budget. But he was very clear on the issue of oil.
“We have the potential to expand our trade, which is vital for job creation and economic growth, in the medium and long-term in our country,” says Flaherty who’s calling on stakeholders to speed up the process for the approval of oil pipelines. “So to the extent, we can expedite these processes, that’s all good.”
Flaherty says Canadians are very concerned that job creating initiatives — such as pipelines — face major delays. Flaherty adds those processes are important, and he says he’s hopeful some can be sped up in an effort to boost economic growth.
“To do things more quickly would help get some of these major economic projects proceeding more expeditiously,” says Flaherty.
A roundtable on Wednesday with the finance minister included the presidents and CEO’s of major regional corporations, as well as the vice president of the University of Calgary.
