The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Around the Churchill Riding I was in Flin Flon on October 4 meeting with residents to discuss a number of issues including affordable seniors housing. On October 6, I travelled to Winnipeg to meet with Oscar Lathlin, MLA The Pas, Gerard Jennissen, MLA Flin Flon, and Gord McIntosh, Minister of Justice, to discuss ways in which the justice system deals with child custody and access cases. This has been an ongoing issue with a number of constituents. On October 14, I joined Thompson seniors for a luncheon at Rotary Place. I was also at Wapanohk Community School to discuss how elections work. On October 15, my constituency staff and I travelled to Churchill for a staff retreat. With three constituency offices located in different areas of the riding, my staff and I do not often have the opportunity to get together in person. We took this chance to discuss plans for the coming year as well as to visit the community that is the namesake of this riding. We met with several people in the community and even had the chance to see the polar bears. In Parliament This Month October has been very busy; I have been promoting and debating my two Private Members Motions (M-197 and M-400). M-197 called on the government to change the Canada Pension Plan to include worker's compensation benefits as employment income so that people who are injured on the job can contribute premiums and receive benefits on that income. M-400 called on the government to ensure that wages and pensions owed to employees are among the first debts repaid when a company goes into bankruptcy. I knew both of these motions would be difficult to get passed by the House of Commons. Both were recently defeated, but I was pleased that the vote on M-400 was very close. I also had the opportunity to participate in the 22nd World Road Congress held from October 19 to 25 in Durban, South Africa. The Congress looked at important issues such as sustainable transportation and infrastructure development. This month the Liberal government forced through Bill C-17, the controversial Public Safety Act. Using parliamentary procedure the government closed debate on the bill, silencing concerns over the impact this legislation will have on Canadian civil liberties. The House of Commons unanimously passed Bill C-45, the Corporate Liability Act or the Westray Act. This bill is a long awaited piece of legislation that will bring us one step closer to ensuring that corporations are held libel for bad business practices that result in injury or death to workers. The House of Commons passed Bill C-13, an act respecting assisted human reproduction. The act sets out guidelines on assisted reproduction procedures and makes certain unethical procedures criminal offences. Although I was not totally happy with everything in this bill it was very important that it be passed, as there was no legislation governing these issues. Working For You The big news in the constituency is that the office in St-Georges is moving to the Sagkeeng Multiplex Arena in Sagkeeng. With the upcoming changes to the boundaries of the Churchill Riding, the communities of Great Falls, St-Georges, Powerview and Pine Falls will be returning to the Provencher Riding. The East Beaches area will be included in the Selkirk-Interlake Riding. The new location was set to be operational at the beginning of November. The phone number, mailing address and email address will remain the same. If you have questions about any federal government matters, please call toll-free 1-888-260-2231 or call each directly: Thompson 204-677-1333, Sagkeeng 204-367-6150, or The Pas 204-627-1440.
