Newsletter — December 2023
How has another year passed by so quickly? The holidays are always a very special time for me - a change in routine, spending time with family and friends, and hopefully a first cross-country ski in our beautiful community.
However you are spending the holiday season, I hope you find time to pause, reflect, and recharge. 2023 hasn’t been an easy year for all. Please be kind to one another. Check in with family, friends, and neighbours, and seek help if needed.
Overnight Voting Marathon
On December 7th and 8th, Pierre Poilievre and Conservative politicians used procedural games in the House of Commons to force an overnight marathon voting session. While our government continues to deliver vote after vote in support of Canadians, the Conservatives voted against affordable housing, good jobs, and clean air. To be more specific, the Conservatives voted to cut support for:
Innovative Atlantic Canadian businesses.
Communities and businesses recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Fiona.
Atlantic Canada's growing bioscience sector.
The construction of 71,000 new rental homes through the Apartment Construction Loan Program.
The construction of 12,000 new affordable homes through the Rapid Housing Initiative.
Cracking down on terrorism financing.
Cracking down on firearms from illegally entering Canada.
Protecting air passengers with explosive detection systems.
Ensuring Indigenous communities benefit from major natural resource projects.
The Federal Housing Advocate.
Northern tourism.
Marine conservation.
Innovative Northern businesses.
CSIS, including expanding the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre, and cybersecurity infrastructure.
Provision of menstrual products in Federally Regulated workplaces.
Women's economic participation.
Ending gender-based violence.
Canada's dairy, poultry, and egg farmers.
The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.
The Montreal Holocaust Museum.
Ukrainian immigrants settling in Canada, helping them find accommodation and have initial financial support.
Child care, including in Indigenous communities.
Addressing substance-related harms and the illegal drug supply.
Helping people recover from addiction.
Implementing a beneficial ownership registry to combat money laundering.
Our border guards to keep the Canadian border secure.
Indigenous tourism and women's entrepreneurship.
Training Ukrainian soldiers through Operation UNIFIER.
Canada’s NATO mission.
The RCMP’s work to combat gun and gang violence.
Combatting the tragic toxic illegal drug and overdose crisis.
It was a very long 30 hours of overnight voting, but also very eye-opening. While Conservatives say they support Canadians, they voted against building more homes, providing school lunches for kids, and making child care more affordable - not to mention Pierre Poilievre himself missing in action in the House of Commons for most of the voting marathon.
To learn more, details on all votes can be found on the House of Commons website.
Rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan
On December 11th, our government announced the rollout of the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Oral health care can be expensive, and a third of people living in Canada do not have dental insurance.
Our government is committed to making life more affordable for Canadians. Budget 2023 outlined our plan to build a healthy future for Canadians from coast to coast to coast by investing $13 billion over five years, and $4.4 billion ongoing to implement the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). Once fully implemented, the CDCP will help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care for up to nine million uninsured Canadian residents with an annual family income of less than $90,000.
Details on who qualifies, when applications open and how to apply, can be found here.
Ranovus Visit
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Ranovus in the Kanata North technology park and holding the world's first monolithic semiconductor "wafer". The level of innovation we have right at our doorstep never ceases to amaze me! Thank you for the warm welcome and sharing your plans for further expansion with me.
Our Greenspace Townhall
It was great to see the community out in such large numbers at the Our Greenspace Townhall event on November 28. A big thank you to the Kanata Greenspace Protection Coalition, Kanata North Councillor Cathy Curry, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, MPP Karen McCrimmon, and the hundreds of residents who continue the fight to protect our Kanata North greenspace. You make me proud!
Help Us Name Our Office Panda
Say 'hello' to our new office panda! Shari-Lynn from my constituency team helped reunite a son with his family, so he could return to his studies at Earl of March. As a thank you, the two stopped by our office with this cute little panda stuffy from China. What should we name the panda?
Important Dates
Canada Child Benefit: January 19 and February 20
Canada Pension Plan: January 29 and February 27
Old Age Security: January 29 and February 27
View all available benefit dates at: JennaSuddsMP.ca/benefits.
You can sign up for direct deposit to automatically receive benefits in your bank account. To do so, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website or call 1-800-959-8281.
Other Upcoming Dates
December 21: Yalda
December 24: Christmas Eve
December 25: Christmas
December 26: Boxing Day
December 31: New Year’s Eve
January: Tamil Heritage Month
January 1: New Year
January 1: Haiti Independence Day
January 4: World Braille Day
January 6: Armenian Christmas
January 6: Epiphany
January 7: Orthodox Christmas
January 11: Sir John A. Macdonald Day
January 13: Festival of Lohri
January 14: Orthodox New Year
January 15-18: Thai Pongal
January 21: Lincoln Alexander Day
January 22: 8th Anniversary: Shootings in La Loche, SK
January 24: World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture
January 24: International Day of Education
January 26: India Republic Day
January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day
January 29: National Day of Remembrance of the Québec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia
Please Keep in Touch!
In addition to these monthly newsletters, I also provide regular updates about my work in the House of Commons on my website.
Again, please don't hesitate to reach out by email Jenna.Sudds@parl.gc.ca or by phone (613) 592-3469. I'd welcome your input and look forward to continuing to work together.
Please note, my Constituency Office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th for the Holidays.
From my family to yours, have a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for 2024!
