October 17, 2018 · 0 Comments
By Leona Alleslev, MP
Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill
As your Member of Parliament, I am committed to serving the people of Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill and working to ensure that the Canada of tomorrow will be better than today. This past month I have been in Ottawa in the House of Commons, in our community listening to the priorities of you and other constituents, and I have traveled from Toronto to PEI listening to Canadians, businesses, and organizations about their concerns for Budget 2019 and where our country is headed.
Pre-Budget Consultations Across Canada
I travelled with the Finance Committee to consult Canadians about priorities for Budget 2019. We started in Charlottetown and then visited Saint John New Brunswick, Quebec City, Oshawa, and downtown Toronto. Over five days we consulted over 65 organizations and representatives including chambers of commerce, telecommunications associations, farmers unions, environmental organizations, major shipbuilding corporations, economic development networks, tech companies, medical research associations, universities, major consulting companies, real estate associations, and more. The overwhelming response was that Canadians want our country to be globally competitive, and that this is impacted by the loss of foreign capital investment, an increase in personal and government debt, and significant dissatisfaction with personal and business taxes.
New Role: Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Global Security
In addition to serving as your Member of Parliament, the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition has appointed me as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Global Security. With this new role, I am responsible for holding the government to account specifically within the files of foreign affairs, and defence and security. I will ensure that this Government is preserving our sovereignty and adequately protecting our nation in a time of unprecedented global instability.
Foreign Affairs Committee
As Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Global Security I serve as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs. This committee is currently studying Canada’s Sovereignty in the Arctic. This topic was chosen in light of recent Russian Militarization of their northern territories, Chinese ambitions for a polar silk road, and upcoming decision related to the continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on Laws of Sea. I am honoured to be on this committee and working on such a critical topic for Canada.
In Our Community
This last month has been busy with travel to Ottawa and across Eastern Canada for Parliamentary work but I have also been engaging with citizens throughout our community. Last week was small business week across Canada so I visited small businesses to discuss their expectations for support from the Federal Government. I met with Aw Shucks restaurant, A&T tire and wheel company, and Lago Italian Bakery, just to name a few. I was also proud to host an Information Fair that provided newcomers to Canada with access to all of the local services, programs, and resources they need in order to contribute to our community, and to our country. I met with community members at the 10th annual Prayer Breakfast in Aurora, visited the York Region Indian Seniors club, and attended the grand opening of Golden Home Cabinetry’s first distribution centre in Canada which is a growing business in our community.
As always, my team and I are here to assist you with all federal departments, programs, and services, including: Citizenship and Immigration, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Passport Canada, Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Student Loans (CSL), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), Veterans Affairs, and more.
Please feel free to visit my office located at 12820 Yonge street, suite 202 in Richmond Hill, give us a call at (905) 773-8358, or send me an email at Leona.Alleslev@parl.gc.ca. We are always happy to help.