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| Welcome to Fall. It is certainly off to a beautiful start. Before we get into my report from Ottawa, I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. The House of Commons resumed in September and the fireworks started immediately because there are some major issues being debated that directly affect most Canadians: The biggest housing crisis anyone can remember: a shortage of homes for sale or rent, skyrocketing mortgage payments and rents, and high interest rates and inflation that discourages new home building. In fact, new home starts have actually declined for several months in a row, at a time when we need more homes desperately. This week I rose in the House to ask the Minister of Housing (who already broke Immigration) to ask how he was going to fix the problem. I think I’ve built more homes than this government ever will. Watch here. Food inflation remains stubbornly high and I’m hearing about families forced to compromise what they normally buy and eat; added to back-to-school costs so inflated that some families had to go into debt to pay this year’s bill. A national addictions epidemic, plus rising crime on our streets (including several recent violent incidents here in Calgary Forest Lawn). Concerns about the federal government layering on new taxes and costs in this environment, including two carbon taxes (the second one introduced on July 1) and now a demand for a net-zero electricity grid that could add 40% to your electric bill according to the Alberta Electric System Operator. I realize that none of this is good news for Canadians. My colleagues and I are very focused on the cost of living and how this government is deliberately making your lives more expensive. In your service, |
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| Jasraj Singh Hallan Member of Parliament Calgary Forest Lawn |
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| Everything is Expensive and is Getting Worse Canada faces a great many economic problems, all of which could have been avoided with competent government. PM Trudeau has added more to the national debt than all of his predecessors combined. There has been no plan and no discipline and Canadians are paying the price. The overspending has fueled inflation and interest rate increases are the result. Increasing taxes, double carbon taxes, more fees, it all adds up to press the inflation rate up even further. When the Calgary Food Bank is forced to run a city-wide food pickup campaign, you know things are bad. The NDP-Liberals do not understand that adding a carbon tax to everything increases the cost of everything. We are now seeing the effects of increasing the cost of gas, groceries and heating while also shrinking the economy, especially Alberta’s. Breaking news!! Last night, the Trudeau Liberals were joined by Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to reject a Conservative motion to get rid of the carbon tax and lower Canadians’ fuel and food costs. |
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| Yes, the NDP-Liberals are planning to censor Canadians Late on Friday afternoon, the CRTC released new regulations seeking to force podcast streamers to register with the federal government. Governments traditionally release only bad or controversial news on Friday afternoons hoping that no one will notice. People noticed. From the National Post – The announcement immediately attracted attention well beyond the usual circles that care about CRTC regulatory changes. Perennial world’s wealthiest man Elon Musk declared “Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada.” (link here) This process starts with registration but will soon expand to regulation of content which is not wanted by anyone, particularly podcasters. Unfortunately, this is only the first step in what we expect will be continually worse censorship. The government will tell you its all about promoting Canadian content, do not believe them. Here is a recent tweet from a Canadian YouTuber. |
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 From The MailboxHere is a list of issues I received correspondence on from the community during the past month. Here goes … grocery costs, climate change, pipelines, cost of living, nuclear power, small business help, wildfire evacuations, British pensions, food banks, visitor visa delays, rental rates, airfare costs, child custody, study visa delays, disability supports, radio advertising, international trade, Governor General spending, animal welfare, vaccines, immigration delays, community crime, carbon tax, CEBA loan extension, Seniors benefits, health funding, food safety, GIS application delays, veterans benefits, Competition Act, compostable grocery bags, rental rules, renewable energy, gas prices, deep sea mining, medical assistance in dying, 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, natural health products, housing costs, democratic reform, CRA mileage rates, pharmacare, mental health supports, baby formula shortages, surplus federal lands for housing, assisting Canadians abroad, provincial police, airline service, government ethics, election platforms, firearms laws, Canada/China relations, sports & gender, election interference, hate and intolerance, Canada Pension Plan, land development, debt reduction, interest rates, cell phone costs, support for the arts, animal cruelty, strike legislation, bank regulations, Middle-East peace, organ donation, Underused Housing Tax, orphan wells, migrant workers, public service benefits, Metis governance, contraception coverage, tourism industry supports, and artificial intelligence (AI) protections. |
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| Let’s Build! Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre outlined his ‘Building Homes, Not Bureaucracy Act’ to let Canadians know how he would work differently to address the housing shortage. • Require cities and surrounding municipalities to increase the number of homes built by 15% per year and withhold funding if the compounding targets are not met. • Provide a building bonus for municipalities that exceed a 15% increase in housing completions and reclaim funds from municipalities that miss the target. • Withhold transit and infrastructure funding from cities that do not build sufficient high-density housing around transit stations. • Entitle Canadians to file complaints about NIMBYism with the federal infrastructure department and impose fines or withhold infrastructure and transit dollars until cities allow homes to be built. • Provide a “Super Bonus” to any municipality that has greatly exceeded its housing targets. • Cut the bonuses and salaries and, if needed, fire the gatekeepers at CMHC if they are unable to speed up approval of applications for housing programs to an average of 60 days. • Remove the GST on the building of new affordable homes. • List 15% of the federal government’s 37,000 buildings and suitable federal land to be turned into homes people can afford. |
| National Youth Remembrance Contests Every year the Royal Canadian Legion holds a competition across Canada to foster Remembrance through visual art, writing and video. While there are monetary prizes and certificates, the first place winner in the Grade 10-11-12 category will get a trip to Ottawa to witness the national Remembrance Ceremony on November 11th in Ottawa. Finalists will also have their work displayed at the National War Museum in Ottawa. Learn more at www.remembrancecontests.ca. Entry deadlines vary by location. Please contact the Legion Branch nearest you for their submission deadline. |
| CEBA Deadline Extended The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) deadline has been extended to allow additional time for businesses to repay their pandemic loans. This is the second deadline extension that has been granted to businesses as they struggle to recover from the pandemic and navigate labour shortages. The forgiveness repayment date has been extended to December 31, 2023 for eligible CEBA loan holders in good standing. Applicants that qualified for the new extended term have been contacted by their financial institution with details regarding the new repayment date. |
| Grants & Funding My office fields many calls about whether how to access funding from the federal government. You can find grants and funding by using this handy online tool provided by the Government of Canada. Funding is available in many categories and is continually adjusted as the federal government’s policy priorities change. Click here. |
| Which Benefits Are You Eligible For? The Benefits Finder tool allows you to determine what benefits you may be entitled to by answering a few easy questions. After completing the quick multiple-choice questions, your possible benefits are short-listed and additional information is provided. Many federal-provincial programs are also incorporated into the search results. Link here. |
| Canada Job Bank If you need help getting back to work, try accessing the jobs being listed on the government website, visit www.jobbank.gc.ca to see the latest opportunities. Hundreds of jobs are listed that are in our community and they offer Canadians with a wide variety of work experiences. |
| Stay Connected I regularly provide timely updates and critical information via my social media accounts. I strongly encourage all residents to follow these accounts to receive the latest information. Just enter your email on the front page of this website. |