The beginning of a new year is traditionally the time when we reflect on what has happened in our lives over the past 12 months and what we can accomplish in the year ahead.

I am grateful to have had the honour to serve as the MP for Macleod since 2004 and to report back to you that Canada’s economy is strong, the government is clean and the country is united. Canada is a more stable and optimistic place than any time in our recent past, yet our greatest strength lies in our energy and determination to build a better future.

Today, Canadians are able to hold on to more of their own money through lower taxes.

This past fall, I was proud to join with the Minister of Finance to announce that Bill C-28, the final 2007 Budget Implementation Bill, received Royal Accent providing further tax relief for individuals, families and businesses. This includes yet another cut to the GST lowering it to 5%.

Now, across this great country, Canadians can keep more of the money they worked so hard to earn.
We have also shown new leadership when it comes to protecting Canadian families from crime. We have introduced tough new penalties for those who commit crimes with a gun, we are protecting our children from sexual exploitation by raising the age of consent, we are introducing tougher sentences for those convicted of drug crimes or identity theft, and we are taking action against the most dangerous criminals by toughening dangerous offender laws so that the worst offenders stay behind bars.

As Canadians we should all be grateful to live in a free and secure country in a time when many around the world cannot count on those blessings. Our men and women in the Canadian Forces are serving bravely to ensure more people can also grow up in safe and free societies. We must never forget how much these brave men and women and their families sacrifice in the name of their country and we should always remember to say “thank you”.

Working together we are building a prouder and stronger Canada that is prosperous and safe; a country where what matters is who you are and what you do, not who you know or where you are from; a place where people from around the world can live in harmony; a federation that is more united at home and respected abroad than it has been for decades.

In short, 2008 will be a very good year for Canada and that is something wonderful to look forward to.

Thank you again for electing me to represent you. I look forward to continuing to stand up for you and all my constituents in the riding of Macleod.

Sincerely,

Ted Menzies, MP
Macleod