Hello Davenport Friends and Neighbours,
What a week!!! This week’s federal Davenport email update will focus on three key things: the misuse of the notwithstanding clause by the Ford Ontario Government, the Fall Economic Statement and the new Immigration Levels.
“Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms sets out those rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society.”
Premiers do not have an option of which Canadian Charter rights they will honor; no one has that option in Canada. Canadians set out the rules by which we agree to live via our constitution. Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of our constitution .
It is an abuse of power for Premier Ford and the Ontario government to take away the collective bargaining rights of the CUPE (union for education workers) for any period of time. And to use the notwithstanding clause (allows a right or freedom to be temporarily suspended for 5 years) – an option that should only be used in exceptional circumstances.
Prime Minister Trudeau and Attorney General David Lametti are looking at all options of what we can do to stop the notwithstanding clause from being misused. I agree with our government when we say that the notwithstanding clause should only be used as a last resort, and any provincial government that uses it must explain the exceptional circumstances that justify the suspension of these legal protections.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland released the Fall Economic Statement (FES).
The bottom line is that we know that life is tough right now and we will be there for Canadians every step of the way. Today 11 million Canadians received a doubling of the GST credit – this will help cover some of the rising everyday costs.
We will continue to provide very targeted support to those who are most in need and we will continue to allocate additional resources to strengthen our social welfare system (EI, pensions, child care, health care, disability, etc.) while creating an economy that works for everyone. I am glad that we are putting a 2% tax on corporate share buy-backs; this will encourage business investment in employees (wages), research, and innovation. Read more below for more details.
The FES also includes a substantial amount of money for our immigration processing. Canada is one of top destinations for talent in the world, in addition to being the top resettler of refugees (three years running). And we need newcomers. We not only have severe labour shortages now that causes our businesses to struggle – but also they are unable to grow with talent with specific skills. Many are at risk of closing. And with our rapidly retiring population and low birth rates, we need more workers if we are going to continue to be able to afford our social welfare system.
The good news is by 2025, Canada will be welcoming 500,000 new Canadians; this is up from 275,000 in 2015. It was a pleasure to join Minister Sean Fraser to make the Immigration Levels announcement at IUPAT DC46 training centre earlier this week. We are working on ensuring that we use local and regional data to determine skills and labour needs, as we ramp up our immigration system to accept more applications. We also understand we have to ensure we have sufficient housing and enough settlement dollars; and we are working on a pathway to citizenship for non-status workers. More information below and in the days and months to come.
Because I was blessedly in Toronto for a couple of extra days, I managed to visit three Pumpkin Parades (out of 5) in Davenport. It was so much fun and great to see everyone. As I work in Ottawa Monday to Thursday (back Friday through Sunday), it’s a real treat to be in the riding a few extra days.
If you’d like to read the whole weekly update, click here.
It looks like it will be a beautiful weekend. So have a safe and wonderful weekend! It’s a true honour and privilege to serve you.
My very best regards,
Julie Dzerowicz
Member of Parliament, Davenport