Kenora MP Eric Melillo is continuing his push for reliable broadband and internet service in rural and remote parts of northern Ontario.
The Conservative member says right now many of his constituents don’t have access to online services.
Melillo says the ability to conduct business online or do appointments over video chat would be a game-changer.
He stresses many people in this region are at risk of being left behind.
Melillo says he’s reached out to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry urging him to act with haste to ensure all Canadians have reliable internet service.
Melillo made the remarks in his weekly media briefing.
Dear Constituents,
I hope everyone is keeping safe and healthy as our region enters Phase 3 of Ontario’s re-opening. Rest assured, I am continuing to fight for constituents impacted by this pandemic.
Fighting for rural internet
The lack of reliable broadband in rural and remote areas has become a crisis in the era of COVID-19.
The ability to conduct business online or do appointments over video chat would be a game-changer for many rural Canadians – especially those who live in remote areas which currently require service providers to fly in from afar. But right now, many of my constituents don’t have that option.
With education, healthcare, and mental health, financial and legal services moving increasingly online, rural and remote Canadians are at risk of being left behind.
Last week, I wrote to Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Navdeep Bains urging him to act with haste to ensure reliable internet service for all Canadians.
The Conservative Rural Internet Caucus recently released a policy document outlining both long- and short-term solutions to provide internet service to rural and remote communities. I am urging the government to act with haste to implement these measures, and to empower local internet service providers to provide innovative solutions.
Prime Minister Trudeau under investigation again
The Conservative Opposition was rightly critical when the Liberal government awarded WE Charity, an organization to which Prime Minister Trudeau and his family have close ties, a sole-sourced contract to run a $900 million program.
It’s since come out that WE has paid the Prime Minister’s immediate family hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees.
Prime Minister Trudeau is now being investigated by Canada’s Ethics Commissioner. (This is unfortunately a familiar situation for Justin Trudeau – he’s been found guilty of violating ethics laws twice before).
The Prime Minister has apologized for failing to recuse himself from Cabinet discussions about giving this contract to WE – but in this case, sorry shouldn’t cut in. As Prime Minister, he absolutely should have known better.
Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau is also under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. He also neglected to recuse himself from discussions about WE Charity – even though his daughter works for them.
This is not how an honest, ethical government behaves.
An unfortunate side-effect of this scandal is that this irresponsible behavior from the Liberal government throws yet another wrench in the roll-out of the Canada Student Service Grant, which has already suffered delays. Canada’s youth deserve better. Canadians deserve better.
Fiscal Snapshot
The Liberal government recently released their “fiscal snapshot,” and it paints a disturbing picture.
Canada has racked up over $1 trillion in debt. We have the highest unemployment in the G7, and we’ve lost our AAA credit rating. This year’s deficit alone is well over $343 billion.
The Conservative Party is in favour of measures to get support to people who need it. That’s why we supported the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), and why we’ve urged the government to make changes to the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) eligibility criteria to allow more Canadians to benefit.
But we would have been better able to financially support those in need if the Liberals had exercised some fiscal restraint before this pandemic. If the Liberals hadn’t spent so recklessly earlier in their mandate, Canada would have been in a stronger financial position to weather this crisis. And if they hadn’t raised taxes on individuals and businesses, more Canadians would have been able to save for hard times.
But what bothers me the most is that the Liberals don’t have a plan to get our economy moving.
The Conservatives have been proposing constructive solutions that would help Canadians get back to work and allow businesses to keep their doors open. Our proposed Back to Work Bonus, for instance, is a CERB top-up that would allow Canadians to return to work gradually without losing their full benefit – a win-win for workers and business owners.
I know that Canada is in an unprecedented situation. But the government has had months to adjust to this new reality and to begin the plan for the future. We should be talking about recovery – instead, it seems the Liberal government’s long-term goal is to keep Canada on life support.
The Conservative Party will continue to propose practical policies to get our economy moving while protecting the health and safety and Canadians. I’m also personally fighting for targeted support for Northern Ontario.
In the Community
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of hosting my Conservative colleagues MP Garnett Genuis and MP Arnold Viersen during their visit to Northwestern Ontario. After an insightful roundtable discussion about issues impacting marginalized groups in Thunder Bay, we headed to Kenora for a productive meeting with Chief Lorraine Cobiness of Niisaachewan, Chief Chris Skead of Wauzhushk Onigum, and Marie Seymour and Shirley Kelly from Shooniyaa Wa-Biitong.
Later in the week, I was happy to join Kenora Mayor Dan Reynard and Council to celebrate the city’s re-opening, and to chat with residents at a BBQ hosted by Ignace Mayor Penny Lucas. I also enjoyed a productive meeting with Council members in Pickle Lake, where I also had the opportunity to do a ride-along with members of the local OPP.
At Your Service
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, or a cause you would like me to take up in Ottawa, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 807-468-2170 or by email at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Eric Melillo
Member of Parliament – Kenora riding
