October Community News – Jasraj Singh Hallan, MP

Jasraj Singh Hallan
Member of Parliament
Calgary Forest Lawn

Hurricane Fiona Relief Fund If you are looking to help victims of Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada, you can donate to the Red Cross here.

“The Canadian Red Cross is working to get help to people in and around affected areas as quickly as possible and provide humanitarian assistance for new needs as they arise. Money raised will enable the Red Cross to carry out relief, recovery, resiliency and risk reduction activities in and beyond the region at the individual and community levels.The Government of Canada will match donations made to the Hurricane Fiona in Canada Appeal by Canadians and corporations up to October 23, 2022.”

We Have Moved! For years, the constituents of Calgary Forest Lawn have been coming to 525 – 28 St SE for help navigating the federal government. Our new location is 2912 Memorial Drive SE, #220. Don’t worry if you go to the old office by mistake, we’ve only moved across Memorial for a little more space. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Carbon Taxation and Canada’s Food Supply
My colleagues and I have focused most of our questions in the House of Commons over the last couple of weeks on the Trudeau Liberals commitment to triple the carbon tax, add a second carbon tax (Clean Fuel Standard) and raise other payroll taxes.

My perspective on this is that many families in Calgary Forest Lawn are already struggling, particularly after a rough 2 1/2 years of the pandemic with many layoffs affecting constituents. Adding more taxes at such a precarious time is a mistake.

The NDP-Liberals mostly do not provide an answer or deflect into other irrelevant issues but they still insist that a carbon tax will lower Canada’s emissions. The fact that emissions have never gone down even once during the last seven years (not including the first year of pandemic) tells Canadians that the NDP-Liberal strategy is out of touch with our needs.

Canada’s inflation rate cools to 7%, but food prices are still climbing (CBC)

Inflation has slowed ever so slightly last month but it is still at 7%. Most of that decrease from previous months was because the price of gasoline came down a bit, not because of anything the federal government did to help ease the pressure on Canadians.

In fact, most of the NDP-Liberal strategy seems to be “wait and see.” In other words, they are just going to wait and see if the problem solves itself rather than doing anything to help Canadians. Prices increasing by 7% in addition to all the other taxes and fee increases that the Trudeau government is adding to your energy and inevitably your grocery bill is very worrying and that is why we are so focused on this crucial issue.

Unfortunately, the really tough times will start as the Bank of Canada is forced to raise interest rates to try and keep the inflation rate in check.

ArriveCan Needs to Go! (Update – Victory)

Finally, after months of pressure from the Conservative Opposition, the NDP-Liberal government has announced the end of border restrictions and made the use of the ArriveCan app optional. This move takes effect on October 1.The NDP-Liberals border policies were never guided by science but politics. I am glad they have finally come to their senses and Canadians can now travel freely without needless restrictions and slowdowns.

Calgary Forest Lawn Youth Advisory Council – Apply Today

Calgary Forest Lawn Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is a non-partisan youth council set up through my office. The council was established in 2019 by students and young professionals across the Greater Calgary Area. YAC is an outlet for young people with informed perspectives to discuss the broader implications of policy issues facing Canada and find policy solutions. It provides me with a different perspective to understand how policy issues are affecting young people and what solutions they are looking towards. Apply here.

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.

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