The MacKay Reportpetermackay.ca/HH+Summer+2015+v8+Final.compressed.pdf · Since the last edition of the MacKay Report, ... ments both here at home and across the province. ... RETURNING

Spring/Summer 2015Spring/Summer 2015Spring/Summer 2015

The MacKay Report

Inside:

Canada Day events in the riding 58th Annual Festival of the Tartans Universal Child Care Benefit—money for families Supporting our Veterans

DDDELIVERINGELIVERINGELIVERING FORFORFOR CENTRALCENTRALCENTRAL NOVANOVANOVA (Above) Thousands lined the route at the Westville Canada Day Parade.

2 Peter MacKay, MP for Central Nova www.petermackay.ca 2

Hon. Peter MacKay MP for Central Nova

Dear friends,

After a great deal of discussion and reflection with my fami-ly, I announced my resignation from federal politics this past May. The decision was a personal one which will allow me to spend more time with Kian, Nazanin and our newest ad-dition coming this September.

As I look back over the last 18 years I am filled with pride on the accomplishments we have made together. Make no mis-take, without your support, your guidance and your friend-ship; I could not have done my job.

It has been a great honour to serve and I have been humbled to be chosen as your representative these past 18 years. I will continue to represent you until the upcoming federal election October 19th, and over the course of the next few months I hope to visit with as many of you as I can.

Since the last edition of the MacKay Report, we have made several key invest-ments both here at home and across the province. We have balanced the budg-et, provided economic stability through difficult times and just last month we delivered on our promised Universal Child Care Benefit, putting money back in the pockets of every single Canadian family with children.

We have invested $20 million to upgrade 14 Wing Greenwood, over $60 mil-lion to improve 48 harbours across Nova Scotia, announced federal funding for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in Trenton, Stellarton, Richmond

and Guysborough Counties.

As always, Central Nova has been a busy place these last few months. I hope you enjoy reading about these initiatives and more in this newsletter. I hope to see you at one of the many festivals and celebrations taking place throughout the summer. I wish you and your family all the best for this summer and the years ahead.

As always, you may contact me at any of my offices: New Glas-gow 752-0226/Antigonish 863-7005/Sheet Harbour 885-3490. Or visit www.petermackay.ca for more information.

Peter G. MacKay, P.C., Q.C., M.P. Member of Parliament for Central Nova Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Nazanin, Kian &

Peter 2015

Peter 1997

3 Peter MacKay Member of Parliament for Central Nova 3

CANADA DAY IN CENTRAL NOVA

Speaking of celebrations, as we near 2017, the 150th anniversary of Confedera-tion, the Canada 150 Infrastructure Fund will help celebrate this milestone occa-sion by providing $210 million over four years, much of which will be used to support local community events, festivals and celebrations.

(Right) Pre-Canada Day Celebrations took place at Glasgow Square with fami-ly and friends. (Bottom left-right) The festivities in Sherbrooke were fantastic and I was honoured to participate in the cake cutting at St An-drew's Jr. School in Antig-onish.

I was honoured to stand with (left to right) Sgt. Blair Bannerman, Pat Dunn, Sgt. Duane Rutledge and Const. Ken MacDonald. Together we enjoyed the Pre-Canada Celebrations at Glasgow Square.


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Festival of Tartans: Everything Scottish at the 58th Festival of the Tartans in New Glasgow. Dancing, pipe bands, heavy weights and haggis. (Below) I was pleased to participate in the opening ceremonies with the Festival President and local residents.

This truly amazing event celebrates the traditional Scottish culture brought to our area by Scottish immigrants more than 2 centuries ago. This years edition included activities for all ages including massed pipe bands, pip-ing and drumming competition, highland dancing, Scottish heavy weight events, clan tents and genealogy, pipe band performances and a kilted golf tournament.


UUUNIVERSALNIVERSALNIVERSAL CCCHILDHILDHILD CCCAREAREARE BBBENEFITENEFITENEFIT

Our Conservative Government is putting money back in the pockets of every single Canadian family with children by increasing and expanding the Universal Child Care Benefit to nearly $2,000 per year for every child under 6, and $720 per year for every child between 6 and 17. The Universal Child Care Benefit was introduced in 2006 as a taxable benefit designed to help Canadian families, as they try to balance work and family life, by supporting

their child care choices through direct financial support. If you would like more information on the Universal Child Care Benefit, please call one of my constituency offices or visit the Canadian Revenue Agency website at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/uccb-puge/menu-eng.html

152152152NDNDND AAANTIGONISHNTIGONISHNTIGONISH HHHIGHLANDIGHLANDIGHLAND GGGAMESAMESAMES

(Above) I was very pleased to spend some time with the Ryan family at the 152nd Highland Games. Pictured (left), I also spent some time with local radio host and celebrity Ken Farrell. The 152nd Highland Games were a spectacular weekend of all things Scottish.

(Above) Earlier this year I had the pleasure of speaking to students at Scotsburn Elemen-tary School.

6

KEEPING JOBS AT HOME IN NOVA SCOTIA Earlier this year I was pleased to announce an $85 million investment to National Parks across Cape Breton Island. This investment represents the largest federal infrastructure plan in the 104-year history of Parks Canada, ensuring these cher-ished places are protected and secured for the future, while also creating and pro-tecting jobs and opportunities. These projects include:

St. Peters Canal Bridge Replacement ($10.4m);

Bridge, culverts and road rehabilitation on the Cabot Trail ($52.3m);

Visitor facilities rehabilitation including trails and campgrounds in Cape Bre-ton Highlands National Park ($1.9m); and

Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site Route 22 Rehabilitation ($10m)

(Left) with St. FX President Kent MacDonald and Minister Lebel. Our Government committed an additional $9 million per year to the University Research Support Fund for a total of $342 million in 2014-15. Through this fund, seven Nova Scotia universities will receive more than $11 million to support world-class research, this includes support for St. Francis Xavier.

Peter MacKay Member of Parliament for Central Nova 6

7

On July 20th, I joined Pictou Landing First Nation Chief Andrea Paul and mem-bers of the business community to announce $650,000 in Government of Canada funding to support the construction of an energy efficient and technology-rich building. The Pictou Landing First Nation will construct the green facility this August to house development, training and administration activities while also opening the door for a new business stream in the community.

The long-term prosperity of our families, depends on ensuring communities have the tools they need to grow and be sus-tainable well into the future. Our Government recognizes the vital role that community-based endeavors such as this training facility play in creating local jobs and generating economic growth in our communities.

NEW PICTOU LANDING TRAINING FACILITY



OUT & ABOUT IN AND...


...AROUND CENTRAL NOVA

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SSSHIPBUILDINGHIPBUILDINGHIPBUILDING As part of our National Shipbuilding Strategy, I was pleased to be on hand as Irving Shipyards in Halifax was awarded a $2.3 billion contract to construct 6 Arc-tic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS). With initial construction slated for this sum-mer, full production will begin in September 2015, with delivery of the first com-pleted ship scheduled for 2018. This contract will benefit all of Nova Scotia, with estimates of 1,000 jobs being needed for the construction. Industry analysts have estimated that govern-ment shipbuilding projects would create, both direct-ly and indirectly, 15,000 jobs and generate $2 bil-lion annually nationwide. Quick facts about the new DeWolf Class Patrol ships: - Equipped with state of the art sensors, these ships will also be able to operate and support the new Cyclone naval helicopters; - Operating in conjunction with other capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard, the DeWolf-class ships will play a critical role in protecting Canada’s offshore sovereignty in the Atlantic, the Pacific as well as in

the Arctic; - The AOPS will have a number of capabilities, including: the ability to operate in first year ice up to one metre in thickness; the ability to sustain operations for up to four months; command, control and communication capability to ex-change real-time information with Operations Centres; modern surface search radars; and, a gun armament.


11 Peter MacKay Member of Parliament for Central Nova 11 Peter MacKay Member of Parliament for Central Nova 11

HERE FOR OUR SENIORS

Since 2006, our Government has worked hard to improve the well-being of sen-iors. We have worked to eliminate elder abuse and we passed the Protecting Cana-da’s Seniors Act to help better protect seniors and victims of elder abuse. We have also taken strong action to put money back into the pockets of our

seniors. Through our targeted tax-saving measures, like pension income-splitting and increasing the Age Credit amount, we are providing significant tax relief for seniors and pensioners. Also, by introducing the largest Guaranteed Income Supple-ment increase in over 25 years, we are helping improve the well-being of seniors across Canada. Every dollar counts and these measures are help-ing seniors make ends meet. (Left) Wishing a happy 90th Birthday to Percy Bezanson of Ecum Secum, a

true gentleman & legendary community volunteer!

12

ENABLING ACCESSIBILITY

(Above) It’s always great to be surrounded by friends! It was my pleasure to an-nounce $50,000 in funding to the Summer Street Industries Society through the Enabling Accessibility Fund. With this funding, Summer Street Industries Society will undertake renovations to construct barrier-free washroom facilities, provid-ing accessibility to people with disabilities attending events – thus encouraging engagement from all members of our community – enriching the lives of all.

(Left) Along with municipal and provin-cial colleagues I an-nounced $1.5 million for the Forbes Lake Water Treatment Fa-cility project. Safe, reliable supply of potable water will defi-nitely improve the quality of life for resi-dents and industry.



DELIVERING FOR OUR VETERANS (Left) Presenting a flag which flew over the Peace Tower in Ot-tawa to the River John Legion Branch 108. I was pleased to welcome my col-

leagues, Erin O’Toole, Minister of

Veterans Affairs, and Laurie

Hawn, MP, to Nova Scotia in late

March. In Halifax, along with

Scott Armstrong, MP for Cum-

berland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, we announced that part-time Reserve

Force Veterans will now receive the increased support they deserve, akin to their

colleagues in the Regular Force. We later made our way to Central Nova and

Truro to visit with some of our veterans at the local legions.

Our Government has also unveiled two more new initiatives to improve benefits

and services for Canada’s Veterans and their families. This includes a plan to en-

hance support for seriously injured Veterans by ensuring more Veterans will be

eligible for a key monthly financial benefit under the New Veterans Charter. Also,

a proposed new support was announced that recognizes the vital role played by

informal caregivers of our most seriously injured Veterans, which often includes

their families.

(Above) Stellarton 110 Wing Air Force Club.


$20 MILLION FOR 14 WING GREENWOOD (Left) I was pleased to visit 14 Wing Greenwood, to an-nounce a long list of projects which will improve defence infrastructure at the Wing. These projects will benefit not only those who live and work on base, but also the local community, which will see an economic boost and new em-ployment opportunities. In total, seven projects, repre-

senting an overall investment of nearly $20 million, will be completed at the Wing over the next two years. In support of the Royal Canadian Air Force, repairs will be made to the taxiway and apron, hangar doors, and fire suppression systems within the hangar. These projects will ensure that aircrafts can manoeuvre and be stored safely. Other pro-jects at the Wing will include road and walkway maintenance, health and safety upgrades, and the renovation of military quarters and residential housing units. This significant investment will also improve the working environment for mili-tary personnel and their families, help support the economy and boost job crea-tion in Kings County and the surrounding area.

$250 THOUSAND FOR ANTIGONISH ARENA (Left) The Arena upgrades also benefit local minor hockey and figure skating programs, various adult hockey leagues, as well as the annual Eastern Nova Scotia Exhibition. This funding is part of the up to $16.6 million in funding allocat-ed for projects in Atlantic Canada

under the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program. The Arena Commission will replace the arena flooring, and install new dasher



INVESTING IN CENTRAL NOVA (Right) I was pleased to be on hand at the announcement for an expansion of the de Coste entertainment centre. With assistance from the fed-

eral government; the Town

of Pictou; and the Municipali-

ty of the County of Pictou;

the Pictou-Antigonish Re-

gional Library and the de-

Coste Centre have joined

forces to undertake a planning process to design a shared-use space that will sup-

port economic growth opportunities in the community.

(Above) Earlier this year in Sheet Harbour, I joined business and community leaders to announce a federal investment of $44,000 in Destination Eastern and Northumberland Shores’ (DEANS) Strategic Tourism Expansion Plan (STEP) for the Bay of Islands region on the Eastern Shore. This follows an investment of more than $210,000 for repairs and upgrades at the Memory Lane Heritage Village. In addition, more than $500,000 will be invested across Central Nova this year to help local students gain employment through the Canada Summer Jobs Program—where tourism was identified as a key priority. This program, which created 256 jobs in Central Nova last year, assists local employers, in particular those who organize summer festivals, community celebrations, and agricultural fairs, to offset costs and meet their staffing needs.

16 Hon. Peter MacKay, PC, QC, MP/980 East River Road, New Glasgow, NS B2H 3S8 Phone (902) 752-0226/863-7005 or 885-3490/Fax (902) 752-0284

THANK YOU CENTRAL NOVA

Pictures taken at the Museum of Industry May 29th, 2015; retirement announcement.

Documents

The MacKay Reportpetermackay.ca/HH+Summer+2015+v8+Final.compressed.pdf · Since the last edition of the MacKay Report, ... ments both here at home and across the province. ... RETURNING