Is this government the best we can aspire to?

As a Halton Federal Liberal Candidate, I oppose a PMO's office that has almost total control of Parliament; that keeps the public in the dark - reference the secret border agreement, and untendered contracts,  as with the F-35’s.

I do not approve of lowering corporate taxes ever further even when Canada is already amongst the lowest in the world.  And I especially don't support lowering taxes when we're in a deficit situation.  The lost revenue means having to get the money elsewhere to cover the gap - what programs will suffer as a result? There is no proof anywhere that cutting Corporate taxes creates jobs.  Take a look at Ireland - the situation the people find themselves in there. 

The safety nets of our parents and grandparents are so thin as to be almost transparent.  My immediate action would be to push for the GIS to be a one-time application.  A great may seniors don't realize they must apply annually.

I do not support building super jails - let's do something about the root causes of what puts people in jail. 1 in 10 people live in poverty (3.4million Canadians, 800,000 of whom are children).  The majority of people in prison come from below the poverty line.  Don't interpret the following to suggest in any way that all Canadians living below the poverty line resort to crime but statistics show that 10% of Canadians live below the poverty line but nearly 100% of prison inmates come from that 10%.  All costs considered, Canada spends $147,000 per federal prisoner each year.  It would take $12,000 to $20,000 annually to bring a person above the poverty line.  This would represent a saving to taxpayers of $127,000 per federal prisoner each year!

Many existing programs, instead of helping, hold people down.  A Liberal government will provide the leadership in the federal government that is absent now.

Immigrants.  As a Halton Multicultural Council board member, I've heard stories that would make you weep. The Conservative government has made some needed reforms but they have deprived newcomers of the family support they need to integrate successfully, they've off-loaded responsibility for immigration, and given Canada a harsher, more forbidding face (Toronto Star, Editorial, Sat, Feb 19 – The Conservative Record - Immigrants see a harsher Canada).


Getting the Canadian work experience and accreditation for overseas’ credentials is something I will work toward.

A Conservative MP wrote to his Minister asking that his  government write a letter to the Egyptian government to express outrage at the religious persecution of Egyptian Coptics. 40 Liberals MPs signed his letter in support but he's heard nothing from the minister yet.
Geoffrey Stevens asked in his Opinion column (Guelph Mercury, Mon, Feb 7, 2011):

• Is a Harper government the best that Canadians can aspire to?  
• Are we satisfied with a government that preaches accountability, then (prorogues) Parliament rather than face opposition questions? 
• A government that has no foreign policy beyond what it borrows from Washington?  
• A government that can’t win a United Nations Security Council seat that would have been a slam dunk in years gone by?

I say No, No, No, and No.  We can do better, we must.
I am contesting the Halton Federal Liberal nomination because I care too much to just to sit by. I want better for Canada, Ontario and Halton.  I want Canadians to have hope for the future.

I will contest Halton Federal Liberal Nomination

After a great deal of consultation, I have decided to contest the nomination for the Halton Federal Liberal riding.  

Going for the nomination was so far off my radar, I had to take a step back when people began asking me to run after Deborah Gillis stepped aside.  After consultation with many people I trust and respect, I said yes.  It is a huge step but I feel it is the right one. 

What I bring to the job:

• Communications has always been my strong point and will always be a priority.  I’ve had many notes of thanks for the communications I employed over my seven years as a Milton councillor 
• I have been very involved in the community for many years, so I understand the needs of the community.
• I am a hard worker
• I research all sides of an issue because I don’t feel anybody has a lock on all the good ideas.

It's a fact that many people don’t care for the party leader, however, the credibility of the party would be irreparably damaged if the party was to endure yet another leadership change this soon. It’s time for grass roots Liberals to stand up and be counted, to pull the party together, to draw strength from one another.  

I hope to have community support for my nomination, a process which has three steps:

1. Getting the green light as a viable candidate - filling in a 35-page nomination package, which includes getting the signatures of 30 members in good standing, and obtaining police and credit checks. 
2. In concert with the first step: selling Liberal memberships ($10).  The more memberships sold, the more viable the candidate. It’s a matter of getting 20 people to sell 10 memberships, and those people selling 10 memberships, and so on.  Rather like a pyramid, really.
3. The 3^rd step is getting as many of those same people to attend the riding nomination meeting when it’s called – expected to be sooner, rather than later.  

It's purely a numbers game.  I hope to have the support of the community.

Women's Health Strategy

I attended Ontario’s first ever Women’s Health Strategy Conference. It was Wow, so empowering and so enlightening. It was hosted by Community Development Halton and ECHO:
Improving Women’s Health in Ontario. Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

Women of Ontario – some facts
Ontario’s women are:

• Growing (in population, not size)
• Older
• Diverse
• Urban
• More likely to live in lower income groups than men, with the largest group being those 65 and older

More women than men work in the healthcare sector, which sees many job losses.

Women of Halton:

• Make up 51% of the population (or 225,000 persons).
• In upper management, earn 71% of what men earn even with comparable education, degrees, etc.
• On average, earn 51cents compared to the dollar earned by men.

Halton population facts:

• 25% are immigrants
• 13% are women of colour
• 13.7% are 65 or older
• 82% of lone parent families are female headed
• And 22% of lone parent, female-headed families live in poverty
• 9.1% of all women (or 20,600) in Halton are low income

Women’s health issues are different from men’s…
• For instance, women’s lung cancer is more commonly found in the later stages. Men’s tend to grow in the bronchial tubes; he coughs, brings up blood… an obvious warning sign.
Women’s lung cancer grows in deeper tissue with little warning sign. Knowing this can shift screening methods.
• Chronic care beds have been reduced, impacting on women as most of those moved out of chronic care beds are women, and therefore most of those waiting for, or denied access to, long-term care are women. And for the most part, they are women who cannot afford to privately pay for supplementary care.

Although the Government lists long-term care as one of its programs targeted at women, no evidence can be found that shows women’s particular concerns, or differences among women, are taken into account. This is the case despite research demonstrating dramatic differences in, for example, heart disease, lung cancer and breast cancer not only between women and men but also among women from different ethnic backgrounds.

• More women than men are caregivers. Caregivers are stressed due to a shortage of support systems. For instance, there is no stroke rehab in Milton, caregivers must take the patient to Oakville, adding to stress of the caregiver.

Immigrant women face their own challenges.

• South Asians are less likely to access cancer screening;
• They are uncomfortable talking about problems;
• They prefer women doctors especially for gynaecological exams
• They believe in a holistic approach to health, that social support, personal health practices and socio-economic factors are the most important factors affecting their health.

• Social circumstances can be a barrier to good health for women: poor housing, low income, lack of childcare, etc. The minimum wage keeps people poor.
• Life circumstances can also impact on health: poverty, housing, education, violence, race, ethnicity, gender, etc. Health is affected by many factors and certain groups of women are at high risk.

All these factors impinge on women’s health. We need increasing access to improve women`s health. We need social and community-level change and support. We need to invest in prevention and social determinants of health.

These women are our sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces, cousins– they could be us. The Region of Halton and Milton in particular, statistically speaking, is considered a wealthy community but statistics often hide harsh realities.

The hospital situation is under stress. The province is in the unusual guardianship role; the system is under pressure from growth, funding, etc.

LHINs
LHINs are an added cost to service delivery –an extra layer of expensive bureaucracy.

Halton Healthcare CEO John Oliver told me at council Monday, June 28, that they argued for keeping all Halton together in one LHIN but the province put Burlington in with Hamilton, then lumped Milton, Halton Hills and Oakville in with Mississauga. The entire population of the 3 municipalities amounts to a mere 30% of Mississauga’s population. This break -up of the region weakens our case at the regional council table and healthcare IS a responsibility of the Region. That's why we have the Halton Chief Medical Officer.

The Milton Hospital has not increased in size since 1987 when the community was a fraction of the 90,000 now calling Milton home.

Even if Milton taxpayers cough up the money, approval to build must come from the Minister of Health & Long Term care. But, approvals are not going forward despite Milton being the fastest growing municipality with all the associated pressures of growth. I won’t get into the double taxation issue - that’s the topic of another blog: http://janmowbrayblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/milton-hospital-expansion.html