If you’ve had time to keep tabs on your newspaper, television or radio recently, you know there has been no shortage of political activity in Ottawa.

The Governor General delivered the Speech from the Throne on October 16. The speech outlined the government’s intentions and priorities for the future and it summarizes some of the legislation we plan to introduce if a majority of members of Parliament endorse the speech.

In the next session of Parliament, our Government will continue to pursue an agenda of clear goals and press for real results. Our five priorities will be:

• Tackling crime and strengthening the security of Canadians by reintroducing important crime legislation with the new Tackling Violent Crime Act. We will also focus on safe communities, amending the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and addressing property crime.
• Improving the environment and health of Canadians by continuing to deliver realistic and achievable results in areas such as pollution reduction and product and food safety.
• Rigourously defending Canada’s sovereignty and place in the world particularly by realizing our strong Arctic vision and a responsible path forward in Afghanistan.
• Strengthening the federation and modernizing its democratic institutions through measures including limits on federal spending power and long overdue reform of the Senate.
• Providing effective economic leadership and a prosperous future by aggressively moving forward with broad tax relief that includes a reduction in the GST, and personal and corporate taxes.

Our government presented an agenda that will pave the way to a safer and more prosperous country. We believe there is a need to protect Canadians from crime and pollution. Our sovereignty and international influence is worth defending. The federal government needs fine-tuning on how it allocates taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars and we want to make the Senate more effective. And we definitely believe Canadians deserve to pay fewer taxes.

Our government is prepared to forge ahead with legislation that will improve the quality of life in Canada. As always, I appreciate the input of my constituents. Please feel free to write me at the House of Commons in Ottawa and remember, no postage is required.

- 30 -