Hi folks,

Parliament has re-opened and we’ll see what the tone will be.  I suspect that it won’t change much.  The PM’s very successful trip to the Middle East and a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union probably won’t matter as much to the opposition as the pure political fun of things like the Senate.

We think that Canadians will care more about things like jobs_­, growth and long-term prosperity.  We made it clear this morning that we intend to bring in a budget that will build upon our strong record of creating jobs and opportunities for Canadians, keeping taxes low, supporting and protecting families, and putting Canada first.  In addition to the Budget and staying on track to return to balance, the Government will be hard at work fulfilling last fall’s Throne Speech commitments introducing new legislation that will open new markets for Canadian goods; create a Victims’ Bill of Rights; protect our children from high-risk child predators; and strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship.

A special event on today’s agenda will be an Emergency Debate on the situation in Ukraine. There are over a million Canadians of Ukrainian descent and what is going on under the tyrannical regime of Viktor Yanukovich is simply unacceptable. Canada has a history of standing with Ukraine by being the first country to recognize Ukraine’s independence in 1991, supporting the Orange Revolution in 2004/05 and various elections.  The actions of the Yanukovich government cannot go unanswered by the international community and Canada needs to speak out and take any other available measures in concert with like-minded democracies.  I will be taking part in the debate, but my speaking time is not scheduled until 11 PM (EST), so I may get overtaken by events.  Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Laurie

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