REPORT FROM PARLIAMENT HILL

Eric Melillo, MP, Kenora Riding

Dear Constituents, 

It’s been a busy week in Parliament, with the government presenting their long-awaited budget on Monday. 

Liberal Budget offers no hope 

Canadians wanted to see a budget with some hope for the future – a roadmap to get us through this crisis and back to normal. That’s why as Conservatives, we called for a plan to recover jobs, get spending back on track, support Canadians struggling with mental health, and build our capacity to produce vaccines and PPE domestically.  

Instead, the Liberals gave us a staggering $150 billion deficit, with no fiscal anchor, no support for small businesses, and no real plan to help Canadians get their lives back.  

There’s also no plan to help those most affected by this pandemic. No support for workers and business owners whose livelihoods have been impacted by the border closure. No investments in immediate internet solutions for rural students who are falling behind. No funding for a national suicide hotline – at a time when so many Canadians are suffering. 

There are some aspects of the budget I’m cautiously optimistic about. I’ve been advocating for more support for the tourism industry since this pandemic began, so I was glad to see a tourism relief package included. Of course, previous measures introduced by this government have let businesses fall through the cracks, so I’ll be monitoring these programs closely to ensure they deliver as promised. 

Conservatives will continue to fight for a real recovery for Canadians. 

Securing our borders against COVID-19 

Justin Trudeau’s failure to procure vaccines has left Canadians unprotected, which is why we’re facing yet another summer of restrictions. But even as Canadians suffered under lockdown, Trudeau was allowing planes from India and Brazil – places where the virus has mutated in dangerous ways – into Canada.  

On Thursday morning, our Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole called for a ban on flights from hot spot countries. Later in the day, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion calling for the suspension of non-essential flights from countries with high rates of COVID variants.  

This is a common-sense move, and it should have been done much earlier.  

Conservatives have been calling for a plan to safely re-open the country – but to do that, we need to defeat COVID-19. And to beat COVID, we need to secure vaccines and secure our border. 

Working for You 

As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, or if you would like to arrange a meeting, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora), or contact me by email at [email protected].    

Sincerely,   

Eric Melillo   

Member of Parliament