Hello Davenport Friends and Neighbours,
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos visited Davenport this week. The first time a Health Minister has visited our riding! I was delighted to welcome him as he came to visit one of our dental clinics and to hear first hand how the dental care benefit is being received by Davenport residents. I joined him and dentist Dr. Farnaz Bayani for a discussion. Two key takeaways from our discussion; the dental benefit is instrumental to children’s overall health and more needs to be done to get the word out that the dental care benefit is available. The dental care benefit program is still open for children under 12 in households with income under $90,000. Check out the link here for more details on how to apply.
I also made a very important announcement earlier this week at the West End YMCA about new funding to support the expansion of YMCA mental wellness programs. What an amazing organisation and an outstanding team of people who have excellent programs to keep out kids physically and mentally active and healthy!
Last Thursday, the Governments of Canada and Ontario reached an agreement for more federal funding to improve health services for Ontarians immediately and ongoing. Over the next ten years, $73.97 billion in federal funding will be given to Ontario with a focus on four key areas. In addition, $2 billion will be given immediately to address the shortages of doctors, clear backlogs and to support emergency rooms. You can read more here.
Friday, February 24 marked the one year anniversary of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. I attended a rally with PM Trudeau and colleagues at City Hall to mark the occasion. Canada continues to stand with the people of Ukraine as they fight for freedom, peace, democracy, and human rights. It was amazing to see so many people at Nathan Phillips Square on Friday come out to support the people of Ukraine in their fight against Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable actions.
This week, foreign interference in Canadian elections was front and centre. The Procedures and Operating Committee of the House of Commons met to hear from security officials. Super interesting information came out during the sessions showing that intelligence gathering is just one part of a larger picture, and while the committee voted for a public inquiry, officials were clear that a public inquiry would not bring out more information. More below.
The aftermath and devastation of the earthquakes in Turkiye and Northern Syria continue to be on our minds. Our federal government has given $50 million in humanitarian assistance to the region. In addition, Minister of Immigration Sean Fraser announced that the IRCC is giving priority to applications of family members of Canadians from the affected regions. As part of our support, Canada will match $10 million in donations raised by the Humanitarian Coalition and its member organisations to support relief efforts on the ground. If you would like to donate click here.
It was an honour to lead the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association delegation to the 2023 Annual Joint Meetings of the NATO PA in Brussels. NATO PA released a statement of support on the one year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, which you can read here.
The Greenbelt. I have written a letter to Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault on behalf of Davenport residents to say we must do all we can at the federal level to stop the development of the greenbelt! You can read the letter here!
Finally, it’s been amazing to be in Davenport over the last two weeks participating in many of the events and celebrations that have been held. We had two constituency weeks and so it was great to be out and about across the riding.
If you want to read the whole Weekly update, click here.
Have a great weekend Davenport. It’s a pleasure to serve you.
My very best regards,
Julie
Julie Dzerowicz
Member of Parliament, Davenport