News Archives
Hello Everyone,
Parliament resumed sitting this week after the summer recess so it’s a good time to give you an update.
What I Did This Summer
I travelled over 8000 kms, visiting several places across the country to demonstrate that there is so much to see and do in your own back yard wherever you might happen to live. I saw many unsuspected treasures to explore should the new trend of taking a “Staycation” appeal to you and especially to your budget.
Also, if you did not check out WorldSkills that just took place in Calgary in September, be sure to go to the website www.worldskills2009.com. As you might expect, Calgary blew everyone away with the excellent organization and professionalism of this world class event. Over 3000 volunteers helped make it happen. This city is simply the best!
Election Fever
The question on a lot of minds is, “Will there or won’t there be an election?”
Seemed like there would be, when the Leader of the Official Opposition, declared very publicly that the government’s “Time is Up” and that under no circumstances will the Liberals support any government measure.
In addition, the NDP has never supported the government on anything since the last election, so it is difficult to envision that Party becoming an ally of the Conservative government. The Bloc, also rarely support Conservative initiatives.
However, a huge majority of Canadians see no need for an election and think that politicians should be taking care of business instead of plunging the country into an election – the fourth in 5 years and not even a year since the last one.
We will have to wait to see how all this plays out.
What’s New?
This week legislation will be tabled to help long tenured workers who have paid into the EI system for years and have now lost their jobs due to the global recession. They will be provided with five to twenty weeks of additional benefits depending on how long an eligible individual has been working and paying into EI. This is a temporary measure that will be phased out gradually as the economy improves.
After a Budget is endorsed by Parliament, legislation has to be introduced to enact the measures set out in the Budget. Some of that legislation has already been passed. Some takes a bit longer to draft because the details are more complex. The legislation to enact the rest of the Budget measures – including the Home Renovation Tax Credit - will be voted on on Friday, the 18th. The vote would usually be held after 48 hours notice, but the Prime Minister will be meeting with President Obama midweek so the vote has been moved to Friday as sometimes happens.
Since this vote is a confidence measure, at least one of the opposition parties must either support it or not show up in sufficient numbers to defeat it. We are hoping that will happen and that the work of Parliament will continue as planned.
I’m sure you’ll be watching!
Yours hoping for an uneventful fall,
Diane Ablonczy, M.P.
