June 10, 2010
My View: Canada needs "hands-on" leadership

While it appears that the global economy is beginning to recover, Canada’s economy remains quite fragile.

The Conservative government’s hands-off policies and short-term vision have continued to devastate jobs, particularly in Ontario’s industrial base. Manufacturing is a major economic factor in our province, but the recent global economic downturn and this Conservative government’s policies have left many of the factories in Southwestern Ontario, and elsewhere in Canada, with no option but to shut down for good.

Our manufacturing base has been hollowed out and is only a mere shell of what it once was. The industrial heartland is becoming barren. Many of these industries have simply gone under, moved south, or been taken over by foreign owners.

One major factor is Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s policy of allowing more and more foreign buyouts of our companies and our natural resource industries. Companies like Falconbridge, Stelco, Inco and Alcan have all been bought out by foreign conglomerates.

While foreign investment in Canada is important, we should not allow our natural resources and large industries like Nortel to fall under foreign control. We end up losing out on highly-skilled “value-added” jobs as well as our intellectual property.

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Democracy "suspended" - Prime Minister Harper shuts down Parliament

January 15, 2010

As an elected Member of Parliament I find it absolutely offensive that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has chosen to shut down Parliament in order to silence any scrutiny of his government and hold him accountable in the House of Commons.

I, along with my Liberal colleagues, will be back in Ottawa on January 25, 2010 when the House of Commons was scheduled to resume. I will continue to work throughout the next two months in both my Ottawa office and my constituency office on Danforth Avenue in order to ensure your voice is heard on issues that matter to you.

Mr. Harper’s decision to prorogue Parliament marks the third time in three years that he has shut down Parliament, derailing the nation’s business in order to serve his own political interests. Mr. Harper is showing complete disregard for our democratic institutions and once again proving that he is more interested in partisan manipulation and strategic advantage rather than governing in the best interests of Canadians.

I, along with my Liberal colleagues, believe that Mr. Harper’s decision to prorogue is about avoiding the scrutiny of Parliament at a time when this government is facing tough questions about their alleged conduct in covering up the torture and abuse of Afghan detainees, the economy, and their shameful performance at the Copenhagen climate change conference.

With the Prime Minister’s decision to prorogue Parliament comes the end of 37 Bills that were before the House and the cancellation of hundreds of written questions on the Order Paper that Members of Parliament use to get answers from Conservative Ministers.

The Liberal Opposition believe that Members of Parliament were elected to do a job – that of putting our country back on track after the deepest recession in generations and to represent our constituents in making this government accountable to Canadian citizens. The Conservative Government will stop at nothing to prevent the truth about their government’s actions from coming to light. Unlike the Conservatives, I simply do not have time for a vacation this winter.


 
 
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