Dear Friends,
Anthony’s Assembly
Next Thursday, February 27th at 7pm I will be hosting an in person town hall in Town of Mount Royal. The event will be held at 90 Roosevelt in the Town Hall building, everyone is welcome but we ask that you kindly reserve with Anthony.Housefather@parl.
This Week
This has been a busy week connecting with constituents. I had a number of speaking engagements in the riding, hit a lot of doors and worked on organizing the Quebec and Atlantic Regional Forums on combatting antisemitism as a lead up to the National Forum on March 6.
Canada is Getting High-Speed Rail
This week, out Government announced Alto, a high-speed rail system that will transform our economy and travel – shortening commute times for millions, improving productivity, creating thousands of good jobs, and reducing emissions.
This transformative rail network will span 1000km and reach speeds of 300km/hr, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City. Once operational, travel times will be slashed in half – getting you from Montréal to Toronto in three hours.
Canada is the ninth-largest economy in the world and Canadians deserve the best transportation options. We have world-class talent, thriving businesses, a dynamic tech ecosystem, and an ambition to grow. High-speed rail in our most populated corridor is our Liberal government’s ambition in action.
Alongside investing in high-speed rail, we are also creating more jobs with bigger pay cheques, fast-tracking new affordable homes, and protecting Canadian interests.
The Hostages
Yesterday, we received confirmation that hostages Ariel and Kfir Bibas, alongside Oded Lifshitz were murdered, since being kidnapped on October 7th. A 4th body that was not Shiri Bibas was also returned . My heart goes out to all the families and the people of Israel. The despicable and inhumane way the bodies were released reminds us all why Hamas can have no role in the future of Gaza. I was pleased to see the Prime Minister, the Minister of Global Affairs, Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould all issue strong statements demanding the release of all hostages including the body of Canadian Judith Weinstein and making clear Hamas can have no role of any kind going forward.
Ratification of the Education Protocol
This week, we announced the ratification of the new Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction for 2024-2028.
As part of this collaboration agreement, the federal government is investing more than $1.4 billion to support minority-language education and French second-language instruction. The Protocol also includes funds dedicated to the recruitment and retention of teachers and for postsecondary education in the minority language.
Linguistic duality is at the heart of our common identity, of what it means to be Canadian. The announcement of the Protocol is a significant advancement to ensure the longevity of linguistic duality, by investing in a quality education for our students in their official language of choice, whether they live in an official language minority community or want to learn their second official language.
Plan to Reform the CBC/Radio Canada
This week the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced a plan to reform the CBC focused on financing, mandate and governance. Some highlights of her proposal, which will certainly be debated and reviewed when proposals to amend the law come to Parliament, are as follows:
FUNDING
The plan proposes to remove decisions around funding from the political and budgetary cycle, and suggests that CBC/Radio-Canada be financed by statutory appropriations based on demographic reality, i.e., by a per capita funding formula in line with the average of other G7 countries.
With these changes, CBC/Radio-Canada’s platforms must be free and accessible to all Canadians, who won’t have to pay twice for this service.
MANDATE
CBC/Radio-Canada, by virtue of its size and geographic reach, must have a clear mandate to disseminate relevant and crucial information in emergency situations, using its infrastructures (radio, TV, Web). Canadians also need to have access to reliable, factual sources of information, available across the country, and not be misled by false information.
The plan proposes to enshrine in law the role that CBC/Radio-Canada plays in the fight against disinformation to support the public, especially in the current context.
CBC/Radio-Canada will have to innovate by investing in new ways of producing and presenting content that takes into account cutting-edge media technologies. CBC/Radio-Canada will share the fruits of these investments with the broader media ecosystem, particularly other public service media, as well as with the scientific and research community.
GOVERNANCE
To put an end to any perceived lack of independence from government, the plan proposes that the President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada be appointed by the Board of Directors.
The plan proposes that CBC/Radio-Canada consult the public on matters relating to its priorities and strategies in the context of its corporate plans. The amended Act would also require CBC/Radio-Canada to develop a strategy in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, in order to take their needs into account in its activities.
To ensure the independence of English and French services, it will be necessary to specify in the Act that two separate standing committees must sit and operate independently of each other.
Helping Canadians Retire Ready
Every Canadian deserves a comfortable, safe, and secure retirement. However, many Canadians often lack information on how public pensions work, or delay planning for retirement until later in life. When money is stretched thin, tough decisions become a daily reality. We know that people in these situations are often doing their best to balance their immediate needs with long-term stability.
That is why the Minister of Seniors Joanne Thompson and Minister of Citizens’ Services Terry Beech, launched a new landing page Canada.ca/retirement to promote the availability of a range of retirement planning tools and resources for Canadians. This website provides a single point of access for all retirement planning resources.
Whether planning for retirement or already enjoying it, Canada.ca/retirement will help Canadians explore public pension programs, retirement checklists, budget planning, retirement calculators and more to help make the most of their retirement, no matter where they are in their journey.
Topics include:
- public pensions, such as the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), and how to apply;
- the Retirement Income Calculator and OAS Benefits Estimator;
- employer pension plans and how much workers may need to save;
- tools from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, such as the Retirement Checklist and the Budget Planner;
- transitioning from working to retirement;
- retiring abroad and receiving public pensions outside of Canada;
- managing public pensions when already retired;
- payment dates for CPP and OAS;
- eligible tax deductions and benefits;
- frauds and scams; and
- protecting yourself from financial abuse.
Thank you,
Anthony