July 29, 2010

One of the highlights for me during the Parliamentary summer recess is travelling around our riding attending local events and having the opportunity to meet and to speak with my constituents.

I enjoyed having my photo (above) taken with Stephanie Krulicki, this year’s Rotary Exchange Student from Athabasca. Stephanie will spend a year in Japan, learning about their culture and serving as a young ambassador for Canada. Enjoy your time in Japan, Stephanie!
Your responses to my mailouts are very valuable but hearing firsthand what is on the minds of the people I represent gives me the ability to bring all concerns to Ottawa and I thank everyone who takes the time to come and meet with me.


News from Ottawa

Recently, The Honourable Vic Toews, Canada’s Public Safety Minister, met with his U.S. counterpart, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, to continue a dialogue on developing a shared vision for addressing border and security issues of mutual concern that will continue to support safety, competitiveness and job creation.

The safety and security of Canadians is the Government of Canada’s top priority and during this time of economic uncertainty, it is also critical that the Canada-U.S. border remain open, strong and competitive for businesses and travelers to help stimulate our economy.  Over $2 billion dollars in trade flows across our shared border every day.  

Canada and the U.S. have enjoyed a very long and proud tradition of working cooperatively to increase our joint capacity to combat national and economic security threats, without limiting trade across our shared border.

Three key initiatives were announced as a result of the first successful formal Canada-U.S. bilateral meeting of 2010:

• The Canada-U.S. Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure, which will enable both countries to more effectively protect vital assets  and systems such as electricity grids, transportation networks, financial systems and telecommunications that are the backbone of our economy, our security, our health and our way of life. We must ensure that Canada’s vital assets and systems are protected, and continue to be there when Canadians need them.
• New U.S. Child Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Measures: Secretary Napolitano announced that the U.S. will join a Canadian effort through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.) to further assist the Haitian National Police to prevent child human trafficking in Haiti post earthquake; and,
• New Measures to Aid Cross Border Currency Seizure: Both Canada and the U.S. will enter a Memorandum of Understanding that will assist our mutual interests in identifying money-laundering and terrorist-financing investigations and prosecutions.

All Canadians win from increased cooperation national safety and protection. This agreement is also a win for Canadian businesses and commerce, as well as Canadian travelers and tourists to our great country.