News

Fall message

Dear Constituents,

It has been a busy and productive fall session in Ottawa, where I have been working hard to represent the people of Cape Breton – Canso. Although my duties as Chief Opposition Whip require that I remain in Ottawa while the House of Commons is in session, I have had a number of opportunities to travel back to the constituency to attend meetings and events. I have made it from Chéticamp to Canso, Port Hawkesbury to Glace Bay, and many points in between.

Since the House of Commons resumed in September, much of our focus in the Liberal caucus has been on the H1N1 pandemic. The federal government’s most important job is protecting the public; however, we have been disappointed with their failure to provide clear information, planning, or funding support to the provinces. They had six months to prepare for H1N1, but did not order vaccines until August and failed to coordinate a strategy to vaccinate students when they returned to school in September. We are now left in a situation where even as the vaccine is being rolled out, 10 provinces are facing shortages.

Of course, the economy continues to be on everyone’s minds. This time last year, our Prime Minister was denying that the country was in deficit, ignoring the need for stimulus in his partisan fall economic update. We now have a $78-Billion structural deficit, the largest in Canadian history. My colleagues and I continue to track the stimulus dollars, and have been pressuring the government to distribute the monies fairly across all federal ridings.  

I thank you for taking the time to read through my Fall Report. My offices in Dominion, Guysborough, and Ottawa are available to answer questions on any federal matter, and I invite you to contact myself or my staff if we can be of assistance in any way.