By Staff
September 26th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington Member of Parliament and Minister of Democratic Institutions reports to her constituents. On Sunday she faces a re- nomination meeting
Gould reports:
The House has been back in session for a week now and we`ve picked up right where we left off!
This week we will be debating Canada`s first ever Federal Accessibility legislation as well as important legislation on amendments to the Divorce Act. One of the first items of business upon our return was the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – an important piece of legislation that will help us diversify our trade markets abroad.
As we enter the fall, the negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) continue in earnest. Our Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, have been adamant: we will continue to negotiate in good faith but we will not sign a deal that is bad for Canada. I had the honour at the end of June to stand shoulder to shoulder with Minister Freeland and our Steel workers at the Stelco plant in Hamilton as we announced our counter tariffs to the United States trade action on Steel and Aluminum. We will continue to stand up for Canadians and Canadian industry.
Over the summer I also had the privilege of holding my second annual Seniors Symposium. Thanks to everyone who came out to hear Dr. Parminder Raina discuss optimal aging and share your thoughts on how we can develop a healthy aging strategy across Canada. I was also delighted to welcome my colleague, the Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos to Burlington to announce that the Canada Child Benefit was increased to match the cost of living. In Burlington, over 17,850 children benefit from the CCB. If you or someone you know is eligible for government benefits and not receiving them, please contact my office for more information. My team would be happy to help you.
September has been full of great community events. I want to thank everyone who came out to our Community Clean Up on September 8th. Over two dozen volunteers braved the wind and cleaned up Burlington Beach. This was part of a Canada-wide effort to clean up our shorelines.
As the host of this year`s G7, the Government of Canada is leading world efforts to end plastic pollution and clean up our waterways. Six garbage bags and 2 bags of recycling were collected from our beach. I was proud to announce on September 10th, $525,000 to the Royal Botanical Gardens for their wetlands rehabilitation program. Our government is committed to protecting our natural environment here in Burlington and across Canada.
We have a full agenda here in Ottawa this fall, but I will look forward to seeing you around the community when I`m back in town.
Enjoy the crisp weather and have a wonderful autumn!
There are some, the Gazette included, that had hoped the government would bring about some of the changes in the way our elections are run that the Liberals campaigned. First past the post is proving to be problematic – look at election results in British Columbia, Ontario and New Brunswick.
There is a better way; it does however call for political courage.
As the Minister responsible, would she explain why the Liberals have allowed lobbyists to continue to rub shoulders with Ministers of the Crown during the various caucus meetings that have taken place recently ? I believe that this practice was to be discontinued and is now official policy of the Liberal Government ? Why ?