Dec 27, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Melissa Mancini

DURHAM -- It was a rough year, but Whitby and Oshawa weathered the storm, federal Finance Minister and local Member of Parliament Jim Flaherty said.

Next year Mr. Flaherty said he is hoping for some good news on the job front.

"Well I certainly hope to see better employment numbers, we're seeing stability now and General Motors has even started to repay the government of Ontario and the government of Canada."

It's "really encouraging" that the auto giant has started repaying government loans ahead of schedule, Mr. Flaherty said.

"So what I am hoping for is that we have a more solid economic situation next year in Whitby-Oshawa, and you know the signs are good toward a continuing recovery, so I think next year will be a better year for everybody than 2009 was."

Mr. Flaherty said he thinks the second half of 2010 will be better for residents from an employment perspective than the first half of the year, mainly because employers hesitate to hire people until it's clear there is a firm recovery after a recession.

As for non-economic 2009 events that are front of mind for Mr. Flaherty, the recent fire at All Saints church is a sad blow for the community, he said.

Mr. Flaherty and his wife, Whitby-Oshawa MPP Christine Elliott were married at the 143-year-old church. Their sons were baptized and confirmed at All Saints.

"It will never be the same beautiful church it was inside," he said.

The event was particularly hard for Ms. Elliott, he said.

"Her family's gone to that church for generations," he said. "One of the stained glass windows was donated by her family 100 years ago. It's gone of course."

If there was a silver lining to the situation it was how the community came together to replace Christmas food hampers which were in the building.

"It's a great community that we live in in Whitby-Oshawa, when something bad like that happens people pull together and that's encouraging," he said.

There is also a silver lining in the economic situation. Whitby and Oshawa weathered the storm this year, Mr. Flaherty said.

"The year ends much better than it began," he said.