Private Member's Bill Passes Second Reading!
 

Below: On June 8th, voting in the House of Commons passed my Private Members Bill (PMB), Bill C-241, for travel expenses and tax deductions for tradespersons and voting also passed Brian Masse's PMB, Bill C-248, for Ojibway National Urban Park, so they both go to Committee and one step closer to becoming law. Once again, I am happy to be working together for Windsor-Essex and supporting this Bill from Brian Masse and I am glad to be receiving his support as well!

Above: When it comes to issues that improve our region it is often good to work with fellow MPs from different parties and this month I was able to speak to the MP for Windsor West's Bill on creating an Ojibway National Urban Park of Canada. Brian Masse has been working towards this for several months and since the park edges upon my riding of Essex and I expect many from Essex to enjoy the park in the coming years, I was happy to support Bill C-248. This area of land is in need of conservation management at the Federal level and I look forward to this Bill going all the way!!! Please see the full speech here.

Above Left: Congratulations to Anthony Leardi for Essex on becoming the new MPP for Essex! Also a big shout out to your election team for doing an incredible job. My team is looking forward to working together with you to bring the best results for Essex! Above right: Congratulations to Andrew Dowie and Team for an incredible win in Windsor-Tecumseh. Seeing two historical wins in Windsor-Essex last night was an incredible thing to watch. Great job Andrew. You will be an incredible MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh. My team and I will be looking forward to working with you for the betterment of the Windsor-Essex region.

Above: How will this government deal with the worker deficit? Not training, worker incentives, developing industry or ending vaccination requirements, but the only answer they gave is immigration. This is not something that will fill the current gap alone since we have a need for a million workers and a million more workers will retire in the coming years! See my question from June 3rd in the House of Commons here.

Above: On June 6th, in the International Trade Committee, I was able to question the Executive Director of the Economic Division for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada on issues pertaining to the region of Windsor-Essex about chip shortages and the international supply chains! See the questions and excellent answers here.

Above, on June 7th: thank you to Greg Phillips, President of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees and his associates Dina Epale and Jennifer George for meeting with me and thank you for all you do for those employees who serve our Parliament and many other government departments! I look forward to following up on several of our topics of conversation.

Above: Thank you to Bea Burske (President), Mike Luff, and Brent Farrington from the Canadian Labour Congress - Congrès du travail du Canada for meeting with me on June 8th. A couple of the main topics of our discussion were the current labour shortages in various industries and how we are going to make sure that people don't get left behind as we transition to new energy sources. I am enjoying meeting with so many organizations about labour issues around Canada but I am understanding more about the massive number of issues impacting many industries. Thank you to the CLC team for updating me on so many important needs.

Above on June 16th, at the International Trade Committee, we questioned a variety of witnesses, including a Public Health official and a CBSA official, on the impact of the ArriveCAN application on cross-border trade.

Many issues were raised including truck delays at the border because they are getting stuck behind passenger vehicles having issues with ArriveCAN and the automation of processing through ArriveCAN resulting in less interaction with those crossing the border.

We heard from Mark Weber, of the Customs and Immigration Union, that government mandates and ArriveCAN are potentially pulling the CBSA officers away from their purpose to protect Canadians. Please see my questions here.

Above: Congratulations to the Kingsville Chapter of Delta Waterfowl for another amazing fundraiser to enhance waterfowl habitat. The legacy you leave for future generations does not go unnoticed. "Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person" Fred Bear. 

Above: Thank you to Gary Tavern and all the other Kingsville-based organizations helping out to build homes for Ukrainian families coming to our area. A proud moment in our history. Take a look here at my statement in the House of Commons from June 17 for more details!

It was my pleasure to award a certificate of congratulations to the Kingsville Shooting Sports Association (KSSA) for their presentation of a  rondel to the Kingsville Cadets, on June 19th. KSSA has invited the Kingsville Cadets to use their property, club house, poll barn, for their training exercises, marksmanship and overnight bush training stays. The cadets took a hard hit over covid and have lost 75% of their kids, ages 12 -18. KSSA hopes this will help change those numbers. Getting involved with Kingsville Cadets is a great way to pass your summer!! Thank you to Dave Epp, MP for Leammington-Chatham-Kent, for attending with me. 

In June we closed our competition to win a Weatherby rifle. The proceeds will go to help the children of Ukraine and I am happy to tell you that thousands of dollars were raised through this effort. Thank you Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association for this great initiative!! CSAAA

Above: Thank you Nelson Santos - Mayor of Kingsville for a great time at the Highland Games in Kingsville. Here is the Mayor sporting the new Kingsville tartan kilt!!!! Below: Great to be at the Kingsville Highland Games. These games are the perfect time to have fun with family and friends. Thank you to Nelson Santos - Mayor of Kingsville and Robyn Braybrook-Gard for organizing the time and having the first one back in person!! 

Below: Electricity and power will be more essential than ever in the coming years. Thank you to Essex Powerlines Corp. for taking me to school in our meeting about all you do and the challenges we need to overcome. This company is a lot more varied than you may think and is planning ahead for the growth needed in our area for the coming Electrical Vehicle industry. Thank you to John Avduoulos (President & CEO) for your presentation and Steve Ray (COO) and Joe Barile (General Manager) for your insight.

Below: Catherine Cobden of the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) met with me on June 28th and we had an excellent discussion on the need to build a more profitable relationship with the United States through tracking the origin of the steel that we buy in Canada. I am sure we will talk further on this issue. We also spoke about many topics about how we can strengthen the Canadian steel industry. Thank you, Catherine. https://canadiansteel.ca/

Above: It was an honour to speak in support of the Canadian-Ukrainian Parliamentary Program. Welcome to Canada to all of the Ukrainian interns!

In June, my office and I worked hard to get as much support as we could for Bill C-241: a deduction of travel for tradespersons and we are glad that it passed second reading with 166 votes in favour.  Below shows some of what we did. 

Above: The second reading of Bill C-241 happened on June 3rd. I am grateful to Dan Mazier, MP for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, Manitoba and of course to Brian Masse, MP for Windsor West for speaking in support of this tradesperson tax deduction for travel expenses. Please see my speech here.

Above: Essex MP's private member's bill aims to pay back tradespeople for travel expenses Chris Lewis, who represents the Ontario riding, says 350,000 tradespeople are needed in Ontario by 2025. A private member's bill put forward by Conservative MP for Essex Chris Lewis would see tradespeople get reimbursed for travel expenses if it becomes law. Lewis's Bill C-241 passed second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday with the support of the NDP, Green Party, and Bloc Québécois. All but one Liberal member voted against it. "These folks have been walked past time and time and time again," Lewis told CBC News. "These are the same folks that continue to build our economy, that will build our roads." (Please click photo for full article.)