MP Report – May 2006

June 01, 2006

Election Promises Being Delivered
Since Prime Minister Harper appointed his Cabinet a few months ago, this government has started delivering our election platform commitments.

The Conservative government set to work, delivering a Throne Speech that focused on the mandate given to us by Canadians and passed unanimously in the House of Commons. Other initiatives introduced that we have moved forward to include the Federal Accountability Act, a new process for vetting of Supreme Court appointments and a plan to address serious water situations on First Nation reserves.

Budget Commitments:

Some Budget highlights include: an additional $1.5 billion for farm families, measures to reduce the GST as of July 1st, a Universal Child Care Plan that affords parents’ choice in child care and sets targets to create child care spaces in both rural and urban communities, and increases in funding for our military. Furthermore, we are providing greater resources for policing to fight crime across our country, and recently introduced legislation to get tough on criminals by toughening sentencing for crimes involving firearms and restricting the use of conditional sentencing.

Since the Budget, the Conservative government has successfully put in place a new softwood lumber agreement with United States that is supported by the provinces and lumber industry. Some other major government announcements include: putting in place a residential schools agreement, cutting immigration landing fees in half, announcing action on easing restrictions on foreign adoptions, a plan to assist new Canadians to have their professional credentials recognized, launching an inquiry into the Air India bombing, committing to changing CAIS and improving agriculture funding programs, proposing fixed election dates and senate reforms.

Firearms Control:
In a survey sent out to the riding last year on the long gun registry, 92% of respondents felt that the money directed to the long gun registry is not effectively fighting real crime. To date the firearms program, which started up in 1995, has exceeded $1 billion as reported by the Auditor General.

This government is committed to effective firearms control that targets criminals, while maintaining the highest standards of public safety. Recently the government announced it is moving ahead with the following measures to eliminate the long-gun registry:

• Transferring responsibility for the Firearms Act and regulations to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), taking over from the former Canada Firearms Centre;
• Reducing the annual operating budget for the program by $10 million;
• Implementing license renewal fee waivers and refunds;
• Eliminating physical verification of non-restricted firearms; and
• Introducing a one-year amnesty to protect previously licensed owners of non-restricted firearms from prosecution and to encourage them to comply with the law as it currently stands.

Our government will not continue to fund ineffective programs and will invest our resources to better protect our families and our streets by putting more police on our streets, funding crime prevention and supporting the victims of crime.

For more information on any government announcements mentioned above or for assistance with federal government problem resolutions please contact my Constituency office at 592-3469 or email mp@gordonoconnor.ca

Gordon O’Connor, P.C., M.P.
Carleton – Mississippi Mills