October 2014 Newsletter - Liberal Party of Canada

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P.O. Box 20084, Belleville Ontario, K8N 5V1 Contents October 2014 Newsletter Neil Ellis, Our Candidate and Our Riding 1. Our Candidate and Our Riding 1. Bridge Forum Alia Hogben Cdn. Conference of Muslim Women 3.President’s Letter 4Scott Brison 4. Murray Canal Bridge Delayed 5. Statement on Iraq 6. Murray Canal Update Neil has spent many of his free hours in the riding, meeting with constituents and listening to their concerns. See more inside. Mayor’s Panel on Infrastucture at LPC(O) AGM Neil Ellis watches Horse Show with constituents at Ameliasburg Fair Bridge Forum Thursday, October 30th at Caper’s Belleville Alia Hogben Canadian Council of Muslim Women 1 Alia Hogben, Order Of Canada, Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women President’s Letter President’s Report October 2014 As summer fades away, I am left with a number of questions. One of the most important ones is will Mr. Harper call an early election? Instead of governing he seems to We are be running a permanent election excited campaign. His preoccupation to bring with the Ukraine, Israel and to you involving the Canadian military Alia in more Afghanistan-­‐like Hogben commitments makes me question our what his priorities really are. His fourth refusal to be present at the Bridge United Nations to support climate Forum control Speaker gives us a this good year. Alia, a recipient of the Order of window Canada accepted the award as an into his, achievement for all Canadian Muslim and I use women. this term loosely, Alia was born in Burma of Indian worldview. lineage and has lived in a number of Poverty, countries before settling in Canada climate more than 50 years ago. Educated at control, Carleton and the University of Toronto, open dialogue and many more she worked as a lecturer, a columnist critical issues are of no concern and a social worker supervisor with the to this government. Perhaps Mr. Ontario Ministry of Community and Duffy’s upcoming court Social Services. appearance will give Canadians a look at how this Conservative The Canadian Council of Muslim government really works. The Women has chapters across the more I think of Mr. Harper the country and a growing membership more it leads me to despair. whose motto is equality, equity and 2 empowerment. Within the context of Canadian society, the group works to promote an understanding of Islam that is humane and emphasizes equality and the simplicity of Islam. Alia emphasizes the importance of seeing oneself foremost as Canadian. The CCMW works to integrate Muslim women into the mainstream. Frequently Muslims must face down discrimination which is amplified when events occur such as the Toronto 18 terrorist plot or the Shafia murders. It is an uphill battle to dispel the stereotypes of all Muslims as terrorists. The CCMW works to spread the message of universal human rights. Alia is a conference presenter who works with the public as well as with scholars. Her column appears in the Kingston Whig Standard. So what are we doing to change the political landscape? Our biggest achievement is choosing Neil Ellis to represent us in the next Federal election. Neil has impressed me with his hard work, his insistence that he be in all parts of our new riding and his willingness to speak with as many people as possible about issues important to them. As part of a mayor’s panel at the recent Ontario Federal Liberal AGM in Markham he emphasized the need for a multi-­‐level approach to municipal infrastructure needs. The current method of downloading costs to the province and ultimately to the municipality allows the Federal and Provincial governments to cut taxes but Municipalities can only download on their taxpayers or allow infrastructure to crumble. I encourage you to have a conversation with Neil. I believe you will be just as impressed as I am. Finally, I ask you to set aside Oct 30 to listen to Alia Hogben, head of the Canadian Federation of Muslim Women. Details are in this newsletter. The fight continues to prevent a one-­‐lane bridge over the Murray Canal. The Conservatives continue to blame Parks Canada even though they are directly 3 Just What Have They Not Done Now!! For those of you following the sad saga of the controversy surrounding the replacement bridge on the Murray Canal, we have an update for you.
See pg. 7 responsible for slashing Parks Canada’s budget. There are petitions to sign if you are so inclined. Should you crave more information from us take a look at our Face book page www.facebook.com/quinteliberal John Brisbois Editor’s Note Parks Canada has cut more than 1100 permanent jobs between 2012 and 2013 in most regions of the country. Further cuts of 27 million dollars are planned for 2014-­‐2015. Scott Brison Speaks to Bay of Quinte Audience of Things Liberal and Financial Tuesday September 23rd, Scott Brison, Liberal MP for Kings-­‐Hants spoke with area Liberals at the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club. Speaking to a capacity audience, Brison emphasized the responsibility we have as Canadian to set the country on the correct footing and to win the next election in 2015. 4 Speaking about our trading partners, Brison referred to trade relationships as simply human relationships. He said that Prime Minister Harper just does not have good relationships. This is especially so for the relationships with the premiers, aboriginals, women and veterans. In his role as Co-­‐chair with Krystia Freeland of Justin Trudeau’s Economic Advisory Council, he provides expert advice and leadership in matters relating to government financial policy such as the new job killing EI premium structure brought in by the Conservative government. Mr. Brison believes that the time is right for investment in Infrastructure since there is a soft job market. It is a time of low interest, and low growth. Leading economists supports this view. Statement by Liberal Party of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau on Canada’s Involvement in Iraq
TORONTO – The Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement on Canada’s involvement in the mission in Iraq: 5 “The Prime Minister should not be playing coy political strategy games and fudging the truth when the lives of our soldiers are on the line. It is unacceptable. “Any change to Canada’s non-­‐
combat mission in Iraq must only be made with rigorous and effective Parliamentary oversight. “We expect the Prime Minister to answer all questions pertaining to this deployment fully and openly in the House of Commons in front of Canadians. “Prime Minister Harper must be clear with Canadians. He must present his plan for our involvement in Iraq. He must tell the truth.” “Prime Minister Harper has a duty to be upfront and a responsibility to be truthful. This should be especially the case when Canadian Forces personnel are being sent into harm’s way. For them and their families this is a matter of life and death. “Tonight’s report that Mr. Harper misled Canadians at this very serious time is very troubling. “Mr. Harper must come clean to Canadians about his intentions in Iraq. Canada cannot be blindly drawn into an unexpected mission in the Middle East. “It now appears as though the Prime Minister omitted a key detail about the American request for further Canadian participation in Iraq. It was not Issued September 30th
the U.S. asking Canada for help. It was the other way around. “It was Mr. Harper who first contacted the U.S. to offer further Canadian aid for the mission in Iraq. President Obama then sent a letter back, in response to Mr. Harper’s offer. 6 Murray Canal Update
Those of us who live in the upper north westerly quadrant of
Prince Edward County or the lower south western quadrant of
Quinte West have been struggling with a decision by Parks
Canada to replace the 1940’s era two lane swing bridge at the
Brighton end of the Murray Canal with a single lane bridge
controlled by stop lights. Parks Canada is
responsible for the Murray Canal and for the two
swing bridges.
At the height of summer traffic in 2014, the two
bridges over the Murray Canal handled 16,000 cars
per day. The proposal by Parks Canada, which was to go to
tender on September 30th, represented one of the most
asinine decisions one could arrive at without an official
diagnosis of mental incompetence.
Their argument is that there is no funding to build a proper
bridge and that the most recent provincial standards require
a wider structure than the original. Parks Canada will replace
the bridge at the original width thus reducing the bridge to a
one-lane bridge. The Federal Government, which is ultimately
responsible for infrastructure and for the funding shortfall in
Parks Canada, would like the municipalities to pick up the tab
for the money to build a two-lane bridge.
While we all agree that there is only one taxpayer, it is the
responsibility of the Federal Government to deliver the goods
on this project and not the municipalities’.
At the time of this writing, the Toronto Star writer Alex
Boutilier, reports that Parks Canada has cut 1100 permanent
staff and it is on track to cut more than $27 million form its
2014-2015 budget. That folks is our bridge money and much
more. In addition to the damage this does to Canada’s
7 National Parks, it also affects Parks Canada’s ability to carry
out its mandate.
Next year the Conservative Government will show in its
February Budget that they have a surplus of about 7 billion
dollars. As we know this is a statement built on false
economies. The bridge will have to be replaced and to have a
single lane bridge offered to us as the only option is neither
acceptable nor realistic nor is showing a false budget surplus
and acceptable way of manipulating our tax dollars.
Yes Parks Canada is to blame for the immediate decision but
the ultimate blame rests on Rick Norlock and Daryl Kramp
whose government is trying to make us responsible for their
falsehoods on the economy by demanding huge cuts to Parks
Canada while trying to have local municipalities pay and pay
again.
The tender on the bridge replacement has been delayed for
an unstated period.
Lenore Begley
Director, Prince Edward Hastings
Your riding association needs your help. Please consider volunteering at one or more of our events. We are a busy executive and your contribution of time or money is appreciated.
Look for the Association and your candidate Neil Ellis at events around the riding. Invite Neil into your home to meet with you and your family and friends. Email [email protected] or call 1 888 554 2372. 8