Report From Parliament Hill

Eric Melillo, MP, Kenora Riding

Dear Constituents

It was great to meet with Ignace Mayor Kimberly Baigrie for an update on the town’s priorities and opportunities for partnership with the federal government.
I was also happy to attend Kenora’s second Recovery Day hosted by Empower2Recover. It was great to see so many residents come out to support the need for more addiction treatment and recovery services in our region. 
Many people in the region are struggling with their mental health and addictions. I have been advocating to the federal government to prioritize these services. I have also been calling for greater consequences for drug dealers and hardened criminals preying on the vulnerable.
After a successful summer of meeting with residents, I am heading back to Ottawa for the next couple of weeks as the House of Commons will resume sitting on September 16. 
I would also like to thank everyone who has sent in their responses to my survey on what I should focus on this fall. If you have not already, please consider filling it out and sending it back postage-free as it will help guide what I do to represent you in Ottawa.
Carbon Tax Increasing Trucking Costs
After nine years of this NDP-Liberal government, life costs more, and work does not pay. Their carbon tax has driven up the cost of everything.
According to the Canadian Trucking Alliance, the carbon tax will add $2 billion to trucking costs just for long-haul trucking this year, a number that will rise to $4 billion in 2030. The total cost of the carbon tax across the entire trucking industry would be even higher.
As the Canadian Trucking Alliance wrote, “these added costs cannot be absorbed [by truckers] and must be passed on to customers.” That means Canadian families are once again picking up the bill for the NDP-Liberal government’s punishing taxes.
This spring, the government increased the carbon tax by 23 percent, as part of their plan to quadruple the tax to 61 cents per litre by 2030, even though 70 percent of Canadians opposed the carbon tax increase.
Families pay $700 more for food this year than they did in 2023, forcing Canadians to eat less, skip meals and buy less healthy food just to make ends meet. Millions of people now line up outside of food banks.
Enough is enough. The NDP must join with Common Sense Conservatives in calling for a carbon tax election.
Working for You 
If you’re planning to be in Ottawa and are interested in attending Question Period or taking a tour of Parliament, please let me know and my office can help reserve Question Period and tour tickets. 
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora) or email me at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Eric Melillo
Member of Parliament
Kenora Riding