MESSAGE FROM YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
Dear Ottawa-Vanier Neighbours,
I wish you a lovely and warm month of June, full of family activities and sunshine. More and more Canadians are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and to date we’ve delivered more than 23 millions doses to the provinces and territories. Across the country, all age groups and generations are rolling up their sleeves! When it’s your turn, I encourage you to do the same to protect yourself and your loved ones, and so that we can all return to normal as soon as possible.
While we’re continuing our vaccination campaign, we’re making sure that we have all the tools to launch a strong, green and inclusive economic recovery that leaves no one behind. We’re creating new support measures for businesses, expanding emergency supports for businesspeople and workers to help them in these difficult times, preparing for the future domestic production of vaccines with targeted investments, and continuing our fight against climate change and the she-cession with a progressive vision and concrete action.
I want to thank for your emailing and phoning in your questions and comments to my team and me. As always, you can contact my office at (613) 998-1860 or [email protected]. I’m here to help you, defend your interests and keep you up to date as best I can.
I wish you an excellent week, good health, and a great month of June!
Mona Fortier
LET’S ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES, OTTAWA-VANIER!
Minister Anand and her team have been working tirelessly over the past few months to provide Canada with a continuous supply of the most diversified portfolio of vaccines in the world so we can vaccinate more and more Canadians. Last week, we surpassed the United States in first doses administered relative to the population, and we are ramping up shipments of Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca, while investing in our biomanufacturing industry and in the future domestic production of vaccines. From Sanofi laboratory in Toronto to Medicago in Montréal, from Bioresilience Technologies to the University of Saskatchewan’s VIDO-Intervac centre, we’re making sure that COVID-19 is the last pandemic that we can’t prevent, and that we’re ready to face the next threat.
While our government is doing its part to ensure the safety of Canadians, more and more Canadians are doing the same, working to keep their loved ones healthy. The younger generations are now eligible for the vaccine, and we’re on the right track for a one-dose summer and a two-dose fall. That means a better summer and outdoor activities.
Vaccines are our way out of this pandemic and our opportunity to return to a normal life and a recognizable summer! So, when it’s your turn, I encourage you to get vaccinated!
We’ve delivered over 8,600,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ontario, and more are on the way.
We’re on track to being able to vaccinate everyone who wants it by September.
*as of May 18, 2021
SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES AND FRONT-LINE WORKERS THROUGH COVID
Since the beginning of the pandemic, our government has been there to support workers and small businesses facing difficult challenges that no one could have seen coming. That’s why we created the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) for people who lost their job or were unable to work because of COVID restrictions, and why we created the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) so that business owners could stay afloat, trusting – as they do – in their businesses and their staff.
For more than a year now, millions of Canadians and hundreds of thousands of businesses have benefitted from the CERB and CEBA. Budget 2021 turned these vital benefits into long-term investments and programs that will help Ottawa-Vanier businesses, including those on Montreal Road, Ogilvie Road and in the Byward Market, to expand their operations, sell their products and improve their services! As I go through the riding and listen to small business owners who are putting their energy, investments and hard work into their businesses every day, I’m reminded of how important small business is to the social fabric of our cities and our economy – throughout the national capital and Canada.
Budget 2021 invests directly in the most affected sectors, including tourism, with $1 billion over three years, while investing $4 billion over the next four years to provide small businesses with the training programs, support and new technologies they need to move forward. Also, we’re announcing a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour so that all Canadians can have equal access to opportunities after the pandemic.
At the same time, we know that youth, women, Indigenous communities and Canadians from racialized communities have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic, and we know that in order to put our economy back on track, we also have to tackle the inequalities that preceded COVID. From measures and investments in the program for women entrepreneurs to a daycare system for children for $10 a day, from our new Black Entrepreneurship Program adapted to racialized communities across Canada to a tax on large e-commerce platforms, we will continue to invest in our economic recovery.
BUDGET 2021 ROUNDTABLE
I had the pleasure of joining my colleagues Minister Catherine McKenna (Ottawa Centre), Karen McCrimmon (Kanata–Carleton), Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans), Anita Vandenbeld (Ottawa West–Nepean), and a number of prominent small business and community stakeholders across the national capital last week for a roundtable on Budget 2021.
There were several familiar faces and it was a chance to hear from our business owners about the challenges they’re currently facing.
During our conversation, I had the chance to talk about a number of support measures that our government has put forth for businesses and for people who were the most affected, including women, youth and Indigenous and racialized communities, as well as a number of targeted investments in affordable housing, public transit and active transportation, green infrastructure projects and investments to protect and create new jobs in our community.
It’s this spirit of teamwork and vision that we have for an inclusive, green and fair economic recovery, and I’m certain that our national capital will do its utmost to become a leader in making that happen.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUBLIC TRANSIT
Affordable housing is one of the most important priorities for me and for Ottawa-Vanier and it’s something we’ve talked a lot about recently in the news. When our government came to power in 2015, there was no federal strategy for tackling this situation, and we immediately changed that with the National Housing Strategy and targeted investments to support Canadians so they can access safe and affordable housing.
The result was the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive to help young people and new owners buy their first home, build thousands of new affordable and good-quality homes from sea to sea and reduce poverty and child homelessness.
Budget 2021 aims to build on this platform with more money, strategic investments and the realities of urban areas with greater connectivity, public transit and active transportation projects, just to name a few. The Budget intends to provide historic funding of $1.5 billion for the Rapid Housing Initiative in 2021-2022 with the construction of 4,500 housing units to meet the urgent needs of vulnerable Canadians. Also, the government wants to invest $118.2 million over seven years starting in 2021-2022 to enhance the Federal Community Housing Initiative and support the suppliers who provide long-term housing for a great many of our most vulnerable, including here in Ottawa-Vanier.
These are just a few of the measures that we’re putting forth in our budget, and I encourage you to read more about them and about how our recovery can help you and your family at the following link – budget.gc.ca.
SMALL BUSINESSES - VANIER PIZZA AND SUBS, THE WORKS AND LA BOTTEGA – NICASTRO
One of the things I miss the most from before the pandemic is walking through the lively streets of our national capital and seeing rows of people, from Montreal Road to Beechwood Avenue, lining up to have lunch or dinner and for appointments, and to support our small businesses. Although we still can’t do all these things together, it’s important to continue to buy local if we can, while following public health guidance. I was happy to continue to encourage our small business owners during the pandemic, while staying safe.
When it comes to a good hamburger, you can’t go wrong at The Works, and having had one last week, I can’t recommend it highly enough! There’s just something about knowing that we’re supporting local businesses and enjoying Canadian dishes and ingredients delivered right to our door.
A few weeks ago, I also went to Vanier Pizza and Subs to see how they were coping with the pandemic and to have a bite. Like all of us, they’re eagerly awaiting the reopening, but they’re happy to see their regulars come back.
La Bottega in Sandy Hill is still doing well and makes some of the best sandwiches this side of the Rideau River. I went there a few days ago between two meetings and found myself going back there to shop more times than I can count. I’m happy to see that La Bottega is becoming a symbol of our city, with sights and smells as welcoming as their staff and their stands.
As we patiently wait for businesses to open again, I encourage you to continue to support local businesspeople and entrepreneurs if you can. They need us, and Ottawa-Vanier needs them!
POP-UP TESTING SITE AT THE VANIER COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTRE
COVID-19 testing is available here in Ottawa-Vanier. The pop-up testing site is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 AM to 6:00 PM at the Vanier Community Service Centre for anyone who needs a test. You can book an appointment by calling 613-288-5353.
