Over the winter break, I had the opportunity to travel throughout the riding, meeting with constituents and stakeholders, taking part in a number of community events, as well as skiing and tobogganing with my family. This included presenting Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medals to Tyler Kosick, Bob Kalb, Lou Surerus, Steve Rooke, and Brian Toll.
With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations coming to an end, it has been an honour to present these medals to the many deserving unsung heroes throughout the region and to see these community leaders get the recognition they so rightly deserve. Congratulations once again to all recipients!
I also had the opportunity to accompany the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages and Regional Minister of British Columbia, during a visit to the riding for pre-Budget consultations with community leaders.
During the visit, Minister Moore highlighted our region’s economy and its positive outlook for the coming year. He and I also took the opportunity to listen to local business owners and stakeholders to hear their views on how our Government can best serve local needs in the upcoming Budget.
Leading up to the tabling of this year’s Budget, our Government will continue to host consultations similar to the one I attended with Minister Moore. We are hosting these consultations so that we can hear from all Canadians about their priorities and how we can achieve the best use of taxpayer dollars. If you have any ideas that you would like to share, please feel free to do so through the Department of Finance’s online consultations at http://www.fin.gc.ca/prebudget-prebudgetaire/1-eng.asp.
Our Government’s upcoming Budget will build on our Government’s pro-growth initiatives and will continue to create jobs and long-term prosperity for Canadians. At the same time, we will not engage in big, risky new spending schemes that will increase deficits and force higher taxes on Canadians. Through these consultations, we want you to bring your ideas forward to build a stronger economy and help our country prosper over the long term.
As a new session of Parliament begins, our Conservative Government will continue to remain focused on the issues that matter most to you.
In addition to the new Budget, our Government will move forward on many important pieces of legislation including the Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act, the Fair Rail Freight Service Act, the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, the Increasing Offender Accountability for Victims Act, and the Safer Witnesses Act.
We will also continue to put forward legislation to keep our streets and communities safe, including our commitment to ensure that public safety is paramount in the decision-making process involving high-risk accused found Not Criminally Responsible on account of mental disorder.
More information regarding legislation before Parliament can be found at: www.parl.gc.ca.
And as always, if you would like to get in touch with me, please feel free to contact my office in Fort St. John at 250-787-1194, Dawson Creek at 250-719-6848, Prince George at 250-561-7982, or Ottawa at 613-947-4524.
