MINISTER DAY CONCLUDES ROUNDTABLE MEETINGS ON THE ECONOMY AND DEFICIT
REDUCTION

TORONTO, Sept. 24 /CNW/ - Concluding a series of cross-country roundtable meetings, the Honourable Stockwell Day, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today met with a number of leading Ontarians to discuss Canada's economic future and deficit reduction. The event was hosted by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, in collaboration with the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

"Our Government's actions before and during the global downturn helped position Canada to weather the economic storm," said Minister Day. "During these meetings with prominent Canadians across the country, I have heard time and time again support for our Government's plan to ensure Canada's continued recovery by winding down stimulus measures, keeping taxes low and returning to balanced budgets by 2014. Many of the roundtable participants also emphasized the need for Canada to continue to push for excellence in education to ensure our global competitiveness."

Today's meeting marks the final roundtable held by Minister Day. Meetings were also held in Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax and Montréal, and included leaders from business, academia and non-government organizations.

"The stability of the Canadian financial system was one of Canada's assets during the global recession, and I was pleased to hear from a number of people at today's meeting who saw this first-hand," Minister Day continued. "Now we want to make sure that the Government's finances stay on the right side of the balance sheet to ensure Canada's sound economic position for the long term."

Later today, Minister Day will discuss Canada's plans to return to a balanced budget during a speech to the C.D. Howe Institute.

A list of today's roundtable participants is attached.

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Toronto Roundtable Participants

Colin Andersen, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Power Authority

Colin Andersen was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Power Authority in 2008. Mr. Andersen joined the Ontario Power Authority after a distinguished career of more than 20 years in the Ontario Public Service, serving in a variety of senior financial and policy positions.

J. Lorne Braithwaite, Chief Executive Officer, Build Toronto

J. Lorne Braithwaite is an entrepreneurial developer and industry leader in commercial real estate and retailing across Canada. He has also done extensive real estate development work internationally in Dubai and China.

Timothy W. Casgrain, Chair of the Board, CBC/Radio-Canada and Vice-Chair of SkyService Financial

Timothy W. Casgrain was appointed Chair of the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors in 2007. Previously, Mr. Casgrain served as Executive Vice-President of Brascan Financial Corporation as well as Chair of the Board of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education.

Janet Ecker, President, Toronto Financial Services Alliance

Janet Ecker heads the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a public-private partnership dedicated to increasing Toronto's role as a global financial hub. Ms. Ecker is a former Ontario Finance Minister.

The Honourable J. Trevor Eyton

J. Trevor Eyton served as a Member of the Senate of Canada from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. He was formerly the President and Chief Executive Officer of Brascan Limited. Mr. Eyton also serves as a Governor of the Canadian Olympic Foundation.

Bruce Flatt, Chief Executive Officer and Senior Managing Partner, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.

Bruce Flatt was appointed head Brookfield Asset Management in 2002, following eight years in various senior executive positions in Brookfield's property operations. Bruce joined Brookfield in 1990 and worked in a number of the company's operations prior to joining the real estate business in 1994.

Peter Jewett, Partner, Torys LLP

Peter Jewett practises a wide range of corporate and securities law. With particular expertise in national and international mergers, and acquisitions and corporate finance, he has participated in many of Canada's largest acquisitions and divestitures, including privatizations of major federal and provincial enterprises.

Nitin Kawale, President, Cisco Canada

As President of Cisco Canada, Nitin Kawale is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Cisco's Canadian sales operations. Mr. Kawale has over 12 years of leadership experience at Cisco. Prior to joining Cisco, he held a variety of leadership positions in sales management, product marketing, industry planning, and consulting at NCR/AT&T and Datacrown/Crowntek.

Avrim Lazar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Forest Products Association of Canada

Since 2002 Avrim Lazar has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Forest Products Association of Canada. Dr. Lazar has previously held senior policy positions in the Government of Canada in the departments of Justice, Agriculture, Environment and Human Resource Development.

Lloyd McCoomb, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Toronto Airport Authority

Dr. Lloyd McCoomb has over 30 years of experience in transportation management. Prior to joining the Greater Toronto Airport Authority in 1994, Dr. McCoomb held various positions in the Canadian Armed Forces and Transport Canada.

Peter Oliver, Partner, Oliver and Bonacini Restaurants

Peter Oliver is a founding partner of Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants. Mr. Oliver had a successful career in stock brokerage and commercial real estate before opening his first restaurant in 1978. Mr. Oliver is also the founder and chief fundraiser of the Stephen Leacock Foundation, a successful children's charity.

Dale Orr, President, Dale Orr Economic Insight

Dale Orr is one of Canada's leading economists with experience in private and public sectors. Dr. Orr is an author of numerous papers and articles and is a frequent commentator in the media.

Gary Rabbior, President, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education

Gary Rabbior has been President of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education since 1981. The Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization established to strengthen economic awareness in Canadians and economic education in the classrooms.

Nicholas Rémillard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Forum for Global Cities

As President and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Forum for Global Cities, Nicholas Rémillard oversees an international conference that fosters expert dialogue on the key economic issues of our times. This conference brings together some of the world's leading experts to debate and discuss the major issues facing cities, countries and their governments around the world.

Ed Scheck, Partner, Hogg, Shain, & Sheck Professional Corporation

Ed Scheck is a graduate of Ryerson University and the University of Akron. In 1974, he received his CA designation and in 2006 he became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Mr. Scheck specializes in providing advice on business planning, financing, profitability, and taxation to businesses and non-profit organizations.

Mark Watkinson, Executive Vice-President, Commercial Banking and Regional President, Central/Eastern Canada, HSBC Bank Canada

With 25 years at HSBC, Mr. Watkinson has held a number of key commercial banking positions within the company and has worked extensively abroad. Mr. Watkinson previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Philippines, and as Senior Vice-President in the United States.

Erin Weir, Economist, United Steelworkers

Erin Weir is an economist with the United Steelworkers union's Canadian National Office. In October, Mr. Weir will begin work as an economist with the International Trade Union Confederation in Brussels. He previously worked for the Canadian Labour Congress and in the federal public service.

Mike Williams, General Manager of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Division of the City of Toronto

Mike Williams came to the City of Toronto in 2009 from the Toronto Region Research Alliance, where he served as Senior Vice-President, Investment Attraction. Mr. Williams previously worked as Assistant Regional Director at Statistics Canada, a Principal at Woods Gordon, and President of Compusearch.

Armine Yalnizyan, Senior Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Armine Yalnizyan joined the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in 2008.  She has written extensively over the past 25 years about trends in job markets, income inequality, government budgets and access to services like training and healthcare. She serves on the boards of the Canadian Association for Business Economics, Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Population and Public Health.

For further information:

Mélisa Leclerc	Media Relations
Director of Communications	Treasury Board of Canada
Office of the President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway	Secretariat
613-952-5051	613-957-2640

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