Canada’s sputtering economy got a bit of a boost over the summer. According to the most recent statistics, the country’s economy grew by .1 per cent in June – the first evidence of growth since last July.

Elsewhere there are glimmering signs of recovery. In the U.S. – Ground Zero for an economic collapse that reverberated around the world – the retail sector is talking optimistically about the approaching holiday shopping season.

A corner has been turned, analysts say. And while there is still plenty of economic hurt out there, there is also a sense that the worst is behind us.

That said, this is no time for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, or B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell to go cheap on their governments’ efforts to prime the pump of recovery.

Both governments have been accused of taking too long to implement the funding announcements that they’ve made with such fanfare. According to the federal Liberals, only 12 per cent of the projects announced by the Conservatives have actually begun.

Indeed, looking around Chilliwack it would be easy to conclude the businesses benefiting the most from the stimuli are the sign painters. Every project touched by federal or provincial funds is a candidate for a bright new road sign.

At the UFV’s Canada Education Park campus, the only change since a $7.2 million funding announcement in April has been the addition of a new Canada Action Plan sign. (Some design work has apparently been done, and construction is expected to start soon.)

Granted, better to allocate and spend the money wisely. Panic is what got the federal Liberals into such a mess in Quebec, where millions were spent on sponsorships without any oversight or accountability.

But speed, in this case, is important. The billions of dollars set aside were meant to create jobs – jobs that generate pay cheques; pay cheques that encourage spending; spending that fuels local economies.

Canada’s economy is improving. But there still is a long way to go. We can’t afford to leave allocated stimulus money on the table.