Table of Contents
- MP Report: Working Hard for Davenport
- Federal Support Available NOW
- Top News and Federal Announcements
Hello Davenport friends and Neighbours!
As always there is so much to update you on!
We heard you! Last night, MPs voted late into the evening in order to pass the temporary GST tax break on select items beginning Dec 14, 2024 to Feb 15, 2025. The list includes most food items, children’s clothing and toys, and many other items just in time for the holidays. For a comprehensive list of what is included in the GST break, kindly visit this link here.
Another measure we are working on is a $250 cheque to all Canadians who worked and filed taxes in 2023. To qualify, your net income has to be less than $150,000. Note that we are still negotiating this, trying to get enough support from the other political parties in the House of Commons — stay tuned!
As reported in my previous bi-weekly update, I had the privilege to join Team Canada at the APEC meeting in Lima, Peru and the G20 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of International Trade, Mary Ng. Canada is the only G7 nation with comprehensive free trade agreements with all other G7 members and preferential access across the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
In order to continue to have a prosperous economy and high-paying jobs we need to continue to build strong trading relations with like-minded countries who share our common values. As chair of the Canada-Brazil Friendship Group, it was a pleasure to discuss how to take advantage of the many opportunities that a stronger Canada-Brazil relationship would have access to. It was an amazing experience — I was able to meet four heads of government during bilateral meetings (Indonesia, Korea, Chile and Peru), as well as many local parliamentarians, business leaders and think tanks. I spoke to iPolitics about my thoughts about the importance of APEC and G20.
As Chair of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, I had the distinct pleasure to host the 70th Annual Session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) in Montréal, Quebec from November 22 to 25, 2024. Parliamentarians from 30 NATO and partner countries descended on Montreal to talk about the top security and defence issues facing NATO. Our PM also gave a key speech where he reminded everyone that it is the Liberals (not the conservatives) that have stepped up to fund the Canadian Armed Forces, doubling their funding since 2015 — and we are on track to triple it by 2030. “If you want peace, prepare for war,” says a famous Roman General. The main objective of NATO is to deter war, and Canada is on track to meet its 2% GDP spending target.
A word about the “riots” in Montreal at the time of the NATO PA meeting. According to local police, they were peaceful protests until the very end, when a group of people whose sole intention was to be disruptive joined the protests. Sadly, the destruction was the footage that was shown on TV and around the world.
25 per cent tariffs. President-elect Trump said that one of his first acts in office will be to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico. Our PM is engaging with President-elect Trump, and last night held a meeting with the premiers.
Know that Canadians will always be the number one priority for our government — and we have a game plan on how to work with Trump 2.0. Of course we will do all we can to make sure we have a win-win relationship moving forward with the U.S. and with President-elect Trump.
Here is an interesting tidbit — at the NATO PA meeting in Montreal, I met with a number of European countries that do not feel they have a good relationship with President-elect Trump and are preparing their own “deals” and game plan on how to deal with him.
Israel and Lebanon. I had great hope when the ceasefire agreement was announced between Israel and Lebanon. I hope it continues to hold. This is a much-needed step toward stability and security in the region. A ceasefire can lead to a path to ending these conflicts, getting humanitarian aid immediately to individuals, and begin the process of rebuilding communities that have been lost. I also believe that Canada should lead expanded peacekeeping efforts in the region following the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
The federal government delivers funding for new Line 2 subway cars! This great news was announced today by Deputy PM and Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland. She announced that the federal government will provide the TTC with nearly $1.2 billion over the next decade through the Baseline stream of the new Canada Public Transit Fund. As part of this fund, $758 million will go to support new subway cars for the TTC’s Line 2, which many of us Davenport residents use on a daily basis. Since 2015, our federal government has provided a historic amount of funding for public transit — and I am so proud of that. I cannot wait to ride new subway cars on Line 2!
Bike lanes. I do not support the Ford government Bill 212 that allows bike lanes to be removed. On behalf of Davenport residents, I successfully advocated that federal public transit funding could be used to construct bike lanes. As a result there has been a massive increase in bike lanes. Removal is not only a waste of public dollars but also means we are moving in the opposite direction from where we need to go — we need more safe and sustainable ways to get across our cities, not less.
The federal government has reached an agreement with the Ontario Government to deliver an enhanced school food program. Under the federal government’s National School Food Program, healthy meals will be delivered to an additional 160,000 children in Ontario this school year. Under this program, a household with two-children could save up to $800 on their grocery bills each year.
Important to all the employers in Davenport — the Canada Summer Jobs 2025 application period opened on November 19, 2024 until 11:59 p.m. (PST) on December 19, 2024. This program is a vital resource for businesses and organizations, funding that supports summer jobs for youth across Canada. To help youth in Canada pursue and achieve their dreams, the Government is investing to create 90,000 youth job placements and employment support opportunities. In our most recent Budget, the federal government proposed $351.2 million in 2025–26 for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.
As we enter December, please SAVE THE DATE for the Davenport Holiday Party on Saturday, December 14, 2024! Join us for a gathering for the holidays at the Clubhouse at Dufferin Grove Park at 875 Dufferin St (across from Dufferin Mall).
Have a great weekend, Davenport! As always, it is a true honour and pleasure to serve you.
My very best regards,
Julie Dzerowicz
Member of Parliament – Davenport