"There's a lot of enthusiasm for this plan, a desire for it to go forward as quickly as possible. As a result, the government has taken the decision that we will move forward with legislation to get this approved," House leader Peter Van Loan told reporters.
He urged opposition parties to pass the funding proposal into law as quickly as possible.
The money is aimed at helping workers in areas such as the forestry and automobile sectors, which have been hit hard by the strong Canadian dollar and weakening demand from the United States, Canada's main trading partner.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper first announced the aid package for unemployed workers and single-industry communities in early January and tied it to the federal budget, expected by early March.
That meant that if Parliament did not approve the budget, the money would not be spent.
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http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=285646
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Ottawa Separates 1B Aid Package From Budget
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2008-010<br />
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Legislation to Speed Up Support to Vulnerable Communities Receives Unanimous Consent in Parliament<br />
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The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today introduced Bill C-41 in Parliament, which was unanimously adopted at all stages. Upon receiving Royal Assent, this legislation will allow $1 billion in federal funding to begin flowing to struggling communities through the Community Development Trust recently announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.<br />
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"Vulnerable communities have made it clear that this funding will make a real and lasting difference in addressing economic hardship caused by a shifting global economic landscape," said Minister Flaherty. "They have also expressed the need to receive this assistance in a timely fashion, which is why the Government of Canada made the timely adoption of Bill C-41 a priority for this parliamentary session." <br />
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As explained by Prime Minister Harper in his January 2008 announcement, the targeted support is for single-industry towns suffering from major downturns, as well as communities facing chronic high unemployment or layoffs across a range of sectors. <br />
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Among other things, funding could support job training to create opportunities for workers, community transition plans that foster economic development and create new jobs, and infrastructure development that stimulates economic diversification.<br />
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<a href="http://www.fin.gc.ca/news08/08-010e.html">http://www.fin.gc.ca/news08/08-010e.html</a><p>---<br>"George Bush has declared the war on terrorism to be the cause of his generation. The cause of Canadian sovereignty will be ours." - John Godfrey, MP for Don Va