Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced Wednesday the membership of the Advisory Committee on Financing (ACF).

The new committee is part of the comprehensive package of measures in the 2009 federal budget to ensure the availability of financing to Canadian businesses and consumers to support the economy and encourage growth.

“Access to credit and financing is the number one issue facing Canadians and Canadian businesses,” said Flaherty. “Where gaps in credit availability remain, they must be identified and fixed. These eminent Canadians will provide their expertise to the Government on how to ensure Canadians and Canadian businesses have access to financing to encourage the robust growth necessary to put the recession behind us.”

Specifically, the ACF will provide advice to the government on financing conditions and on the design, scope and scale of initiatives under the Extraordinary Financing Framework (EFF) and advise the finance minister on their implementation and effectiveness. The EFF consists of up to $200 billion in existing and new measures to support the extension of financing to Canadian businesses and consumers during these exceptional times.

The ACF was announced in Budget 2009 and was a recommendation of the Economic Advisory Council.

Flaherty said the committee members have agreed to a salary of $1, with their expenses being reimbursed by the Government. The first meeting of the ACF will take place in the coming weeks.

The committee members are:

> Stanley H. Hartt (Chair);
> Elyse Allan;
> Luc Bertrand;
> Richard Bird;
> Christian Chia;
> Gail Cook-Bennett;
> Leo de Bever;
> William Lovatt;
> Bill McEwan; and
> Siim Vanaselja.

http://www.fin.gc.ca/n08/09-036-eng.asp