Tagged with: CPC


October 1, 2016 | No Comments

Today is National Seniors Day in Canada

This is an opportunity to celebrate and recognize Canada’s seniors who have helped build our country and continue to contribute to our communities.

Don’t forget to take the time today to celebrate the seniors who have impacted your life.

Happy National Seniors Day!

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September 29, 2016 | No Comments

Kerry Diotte tables legislation condemning Crimean Tatars genocide

For Immediate Release

September 29, 2016

(OTTAWA, ONTARIO) — Kerry Diotte has introduced his first Private Members’ Bill (PMB) in the House of Commons. The bill is titled An Act to establish a Crimean Tatar Deportation (“Sürgünlik”) Memorial Day and to recognize the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 as an act of genocide.

“My Bill condemns a dark chapter in history and takes a principled stand in support of freedom, democracy and the rule of law,” said Diotte, who was elected on Oct. 19, 2015.

If passed, this Act will recognize the mass deportations of Crimean Tatars in 1944 by the Soviet regime as genocide and establish May 18 as a day of commemoration.

“In 1944, the Soviet regime under Josef Stalin ripped hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children from their homes in Crimea and sent them into permanent exile simply on the basis of their nationality,” he said.

“They were denied their freedom of movement, freedom of expression and freedom of worship until the Soviet Union ceased to exist. It constitutes a great crime against humanity.”

In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine, and illegally annexed Crimea after staging a sham referendum in the region.

“We cannot separate the deportations of 1944 from Russia’s theft of Crimea from Ukraine seventy years later.”

“The same evil ideology and disregard for the fundamental rights and freedoms of every man and woman is at work in both a regime that would tear 200,000 people from their homes and drop them in a remote part of Central Asia; and in starting a war with a peaceful neighboring country in order to steal territory.”

This Bill is especially important because Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea has placed the Crimean Tatars under threat once again. Today, they face renewed attacks on their representative bodies, places of worship, and independent media outlets.

In 2015, the Parliament of Ukraine officially recognized the deportations of 1944 as genocide, the first country in the world to do so. Subsequently, the Ukrainian Parliament called on other countries to join them in recognizing this atrocity as genocide.

“Canada has always been a steadfast and loyal friend to Ukraine, and we need to show our leadership once again,” said Diotte.

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Kerry Diotte

Member of Parliament

Edmonton Griesbach

(613) 992-3821

02-2

 

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September 28, 2016 | No Comments

Have your voice heard

Here’s an important opportunity to have your voice heard and demand a referendum.

The House of Commons’ Special Committee on Electoral Reform is holding public open microphone sessions in the Edmonton area tomorrow.

When: Thursday September 29, 2016.
4:15pm to 5:00 p.m.
7:30pm to 9:30 p.m.

Where: Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel (attached to the airport)
4236 – 36 St. East
Leduc, AB

To speak, you must be registered at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the session.

If you can’t make it to this meeting, you can also complete the Committee’s online e-consultation form here.

demand-a-vote-web

 

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August 29, 2016 | 1 Comment

Let’s fight for this vital development on Edmonton’s north side

By KERRY DIOTTE

This development has to be done and be done right.

Edmonton’s city council owes it to the residents of our north-side federal riding of Edmonton Griesbach to approve Northlands’ Vision 2020 plan.

A good portion of my 100,000-plus federal constituents are counting on the City of Edmonton stepping up to support this vision.

Our riding includes many of the neighbourhoods in the vicinity of Northlands, including Alberta Avenue, Beacon Heights, Bellevue, Beverly Heights, Boyle Street, Cromdale, Eastwood, Highlands, Lauderdale, McCauley, Montrose, Newton, Parkdale, Rundle Heights and Virginia Park.

We know Edmonton has a shiny new downtown arena, built with taxpayers dollars, replacing the legendary Rexall Place that was operated successfully by Northlands.

We as a city owe it to residents in those communities to buy into the vision Northlands has come up with for its 160-acre campus that includes Rexall Place, Northlands Race Track and Casino and the Edmonton Expo Centre conference facility.

That vision includes turning Rexall Place into a multiple ice-surface facility, expanding the Expo Centre, building a new, small concert facility and putting in housing.

Not doing so means: There goes the neighbourhood(s)! Reports show dire consequences if we don’t get this right.

Failure to develop the Northlands site would reduce property values by up to 10% — homes that hard-working north-side Edmontonians invested their life savings in. This scenario would see the City’s residential assessment base shrink by up to $125 million.

The City of Edmonton has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in other sectors of the city including the downtown, Blatchford (the old City Centre Airport) and The Quarters. The Northlands area communities deserve the same benefit.

Indeed, when Edmonton city council agreed to construct the downtown arena it bought into the theory that the project would revitalize the downtown. Shouldn’t our communities surrounding the Northlands campus receive a similar benefit?

Those communities include Edmonton’s largest population of indigenous people and scores of new Canadians including a sizeable Somali community who live there and are trying to build new lives in this great city of ours.

This area also includes a thriving arts community centred on 118 Avenue that has breathed new life into old buildings. They have succeeded remarkably. I have to note that when we were looking to rent a constituency office for our federal riding of Edmonton Griesbach, the redevelopment of 118 Avenue has been so successful we could not find a single suitable space there. That’s actually good news.

This area is not a home to big-box stores or fancy corporate offices. It’s filled with small mom-and-pop businesses eking out an income in the shadow of Rexall Place. These folks deserve our support.

Some pundits are saying Northlands plan is too ambitious, there’s not a suitable business plan. It costs too much money. As a fiscal conservative, former city councillor and the Official Opposition’s deputy Urban Affairs critic, I sympathize with concerns about finances.

That said, where was the business plan when city council decided to close down City Centre Airport to build what was pitched as the ultra-green, eco-friendly Blatchford development? Latest plans there have deeply scaled back the so-called green initiatives. Where was the business case for that development?

The City of Edmonton went gung-ho on that plan regardless. Northlands Vision 2020, however makes good sense and is well thought out.

The not-for-profit, 137-year-old organization was forced out of the business of running major sporting events and large concerts with the approval of the new Rogers Centre arena downtown. That’s despite the fact the organization did an admirable, world-class job of those duties. Indeed Rexall, under Northlands management, was listed as the 27th busiest arena (indoors or outdoors) in the world!

Northlands and the tens of thousands of residents surrounding the 160-acre site deserve to have the City of Edmonton buy into a plan that would see Rexall turned into a six-sheet hockey tournament facility, an expansion of Hall D at the Expo Centre to allow 5,000-seats for hockey as well as rodeo, concerts and other events. It also calls for an outdoor festival site where the racetrack and casino is today as well as residential and retail development.

There’s been talk that the Edmonton Expo Centre doesn’t break even. Well, conference centres throughout North America tend to not break even. It’s the economic spinoffs that bring millions to cities by hosting events at them.

This is an ideal campus for urban renewal. It’s a stone’s throw from our downtown. It’s served by an existing station on a high-speed LRT line. It’s adjacent to Yellowhead Trail and has tons of parking.

A special city council public hearing takes place Wednesday Aug. 31 and I intend to be there in person speaking up for the vital north-side project.

If you’re a resident in the area or you own a business there, you too have a right to speak about this. If you care about thriving, sustainable neighbourhoods, please have your say. Tell city council what you think. Get on the speakers list to have your five minutes. Call the City Clerk’s office at (780) 496-8178 or email: [email protected]

To see more details about the thoughtful development, Vision 2020, go here:

http://www.northlands.com/vision2020/

Let’s make sure our north-side residents get the development they deserve. As your Conservative Member of Parliament I will fight to see we get this development done and done right.

(Comments? Questions? E-mail me at: [email protected])

Northlands Arena

Northlands Vision 2020

 

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August 25, 2016 | No Comments

Great discussion with local business and community leaders

I was pleased to host an Economic Roundtable at Concordia University in my riding of Edmonton Griesbach.

This roundtable was an opportunity for me to hear the priorities of local business and community leaders when it comes to growing the economy, creating jobs and ensuring the long-term prosperity of all Canadians.

Roundtable participants agreed that the federal government must do more to support the development of our natural resource sector – including getting Alberta’s oil to wider markets, abandon tax hikes, control spending and streamline inter-provincial trade.

 

Economic Roundtable in Edmonton Griesbach

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August 18, 2016 | No Comments

Great roundtable discussions on the future of the Canadian Armed Forces

I was pleased to host a roundtable discussion on the future on the Canadian Armed Forces. Participants all had valuable perspectives and insights on the topic. We had a great conversation about the many important issues facing our military and our national security.

It’s important to me that my constituents have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the Liberal government’s defence policy review to help ensure that it is truly reflective of Canadian values.

Canada needs a robust defence policy that ensures that our men and women in uniform have the support and resources they need to do their job and that our borders are secure.

Defence Policy Roundtable Discussion
Defence Policy Roundtable

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July 1, 2016 | No Comments

Happy Canada Day!

Wishing you a happy, healthy Canada Day!

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June 20, 2016 | No Comments

Job opportunity in Edmonton office

Job Opportunity – Constituency Assistant

Are you a dynamic team player? Do you thrive working with community and political leaders? Are you a professional with a meticulous attention to detail?

The office of Kerry Diotte, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Griesbach, is seeking a candidate to fill the position of Constituent Assistant in Edmonton.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who takes initiative and possesses strong interpersonal skills. The candidate must possess sound judgement and discretion.

 Position Description:

 Qualifications and Experience:

Interested candidates should send their cover letter and resume to the attention of

Sally Harris at: [email protected]

Applications will be accepted until 5 PM on Friday, July 1, 2016.

**We thank all for applying, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted. **

 

Office

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June 9, 2016 | 1 Comment

Does Canada need electoral reform?

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June 6, 2016 | 2 Comments

10 good reasons to keep our voting system as is

By KERRY DIOTTE

The governing Liberals insist we must have a new system of voting for future federal elections. Here are 10 reasons why this is a very bad idea:

1 – There’s no groundswell in the Canadian public demanding a new voting system. While knocking on thousands of doors for the October 2015 election I cannot recall one person bringing up the issue.

2 – The Liberals have repeatedly ruled out sticking with our current system of first-past-the-post elections, a method that has served Canada well since Confederation.

3 – Despite pledges to do widespread consultations with the public before changing our system, there’s no plan to hold a national referendum on this historic change to our democracy.

4 – Critics rightfully point out that other systems of voting can favour the ruling Liberals. Under a so-called ranked ballot or proportional representation system, it’s predicted the Liberals would have increased their current seat count Oct. 19 from 184 to 224 in this current Parliament.

5 – The Liberals are already tipping their hand that they’re leaning to the ranked-ballot system. That comes amid news the Privy Council Office (that reports directly to the Prime Minister and minister in charge) recently hired Derek Alton, who founded a group that advocates the ranked ballot system.

6 – A ranked-ballot system would put Conservative voters at a disadvantage. Studies have shown NDP supporters would tend to pick Liberal candidates as their second pick while Liberal supporters would choose NDP reps for their second-string choice. Conservative voters frequently indicate they don’t wish to have a second choice of another candidate at all.

7 – Liberal Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef has actually claimed in the House of Commons that consultation on reform using Twitter and townhalls is more valid than holding a national referendum.

8 – Much has been made of the fact Liberals recently changed the makeup of a parliamentary committee tasked with coming up with a new voting system. Now opposition members from the Green Party, the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP will get a vote. But the truth is, the committee is little more than a paper tiger. The ruling Grits can still ignore its finding and choose any new voting system it desires. Such are the perks of winning a majority government.

9 – There are precedents for holding voting referendums in Canada. Through referenda, in British Columbia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island voters rejected changes to their systems.

10 – Recent opinion polls show that nearly three quarters of Canadians believe a national referendum should be held if there is to be a change in our way of voting.

If you believe there’s no reason to change our voting system or you think we must hold a national referendum before doing so, take action. Write to the Prime Minister at House of Commons, Ottawa, ON. K1A 0A6. There is no postage required to send that letter.

Ballot

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