Last month, I shaved off my moustache (and am growing it back) to mark “Movember,” a month-long campaign to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer. I was inspired to participate in this campaign in part because my colleague and leader Jack Layton has prostate cancer.  About 25, 000 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.  I also want to extend kudos to Jack Brill of Lower Sackville who has worked tirelessly to raise awareness for prostate cancer and early detection.

Military Purchases

New Democrats are calling on the federal government to temporarily pause its purchase of new F-35 fighter jets in an effort to ensure the procurement process is open, fair, and transparent.  In July, the Conservative government announced they plan to purchase sixty-five F-35 Lightning II fighter jets from Lockheed-Martin at a cost of more than 16 billion dollars.  The new jets will replace Canada’s aging CF-18’s.  But the government did not publically tender the purchase of these new fighter jets and the decision was made without consultation.  We need to ensure that this aircraft is the best one for the men and women in the Canadian Forces and that it provides the best value for taxpayers’ dollars.

Veterans Update

Congratulations to John Labelle of Lower Sackville and Dennis Manuge of Porters Lake who recently received the Commendation Award from Colonel (Ret’d) Patrick Stogran, Canada’s Ombudsman for Veterans’ Affairs, in recognition of their work and advocacy for veterans.  I was also pleased to receive the same Commendation Award that evening.  In conversation with John and Dennis, we noted that out of the four award recipients, three of us were from the federal riding of Sackville-Eastern Shore.

Colonel (Ret’d) Stogran was not re-appointed for a second term as the Ombudsman for Veterans Affairs despite many calls for a second term.  I wish Colonel Stogran all the best in his future endeavours.   I also congratulate Mr. Guy Parent who was appointed the new Veterans Ombudsman on November 12^th.

I was pleased that the House of Commons held a ‘take-note’ debate on veterans’ issues in the House of Commons on November 2^nd.  I pushed for this debate in recognition of the very serious issues facing veterans and their families and to ask for an inquiry into the practices of the Department of Veterans Affairs.  I also introduced a new bill (C-592) to allow modern day CF veterans’ access to veterans’ hospitals and departmental long term care beds.

National Declaration of Tartan Day

I am pleased that the federal government has officially declared April 6 as Tartan Day. I know many Scottish groups are very pleased with this declaration including Jean Watson of Lower Sackville.  Jean helped push for Tartan Day to be recognized on a national level and following her lead, I introduced a bill in the House of Commons several years ago.

Tartan Day is celebrated in many provinces including Nova Scotia in recognition of Canadians who have Scottish heritage.  I thank Canadian Heritage Minister Moore for his effort to officially recognize April 6^th as Tartan Day.

All the Best for the Holiday Season

On behalf of my wife Andrea, my family, and my staff, I wish you the very best for the holiday season and in the New Year.

As always, please contact me regarding any of your concerns or comments.  I can be reached at 861-2311 or toll free at 1-888-701-5557.

Thanks to those of you who took the time on Remembrance Day, and every day, to honour and remember the great contributions of our veterans who bravely served our country and those who died in service. Thank you to those of you who also took time to recognize the contributions of our current Canadian Forces and RCMP personnel and their families plus first responders such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics and many others. I laid a wreath at the Eastern Passage cenotaph this year. Representatives placed wreaths at other cenotaphs on my behalf.

Public Inquiry Needed into Veterans Affairs

My work as the NDP Veteran’s Affairs Critic continues. I recently called for a public inquiry into the practices and policies of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Evidence is mounting that government bureaucrats accessed the personal medical files of several veterans and shared it with the Minister and his staff. This is a serious invasion of privacy for respected veterans’ advocates, Sean Bruyea, Louise Richard, Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran, and others. In a report on October 7th, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada stated that in Mr. Bruyea’s case, the Department of Veterans Affairs broke the law.

I continue to work on a number of issues that would improve programs and services for veterans and their families. One of these issues is spousal access to veterans’ hospitals.
This issue is a heartbreaking one for families. Spouses are separated after a life-time of marriage when a veteran is admitted to a veterans’ hospital for care. Often both of the spouses are experiencing failing health and are devastated by being apart. Family members who have experienced this situation have described it as a cruel policy that forcibly separates spouses in the last remaining days or years of their life.

Since the jurisdiction of veterans’ hospitals lies with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, I asked the Minister more than three years ago to make changes and allocate some beds for the spouses of veterans at these facilities. But nothing has changed since that time. I will continue to advocate that the federal government make these changes so veterans’ spouses can be together in their last remaining years of life.

Waiver of Tariffs for Imported Vessels will Hurt Canada’ Shipbuilding Industry

While I am pleased that the government launched a national shipbuilding plan to build vessels in Canadian shipyards over the next 30 years, I am concerned by their recent decision to cut the 25% tariff for imported ships. I fear that the elimination of this tariff will lead to job loss and rationalization of shipyards. It essentially means that our government believes certain types of vessels would be better built elsewhere and not in Canada.

Canada has an opportunity to create jobs to meet our domestic maritime transport needs but there is no federal strategy to do this. And by eliminating this import tariff, I feel that the Conservative government is turning its back on an industry that could build competitively priced domestic cargo vessels, tankers and ferries.

Take the Federal Portion of HST off Home Heating Oil

New Democrats are calling on the Conservative government to remove the GST off all home heating fuels across Canada before the winter sets in. As Nova Scotia is a province with HST, that would mean a removal of the federal portion (5%) of the HST.

I am pleased that this issue is moving forward and gaining steam. Since 2006, I have called for the removal of GST on home heating fuel. I introduced a bill to the House of Commons (C-436) to complement the efforts of my NDP provincial colleagues calling for HST relief on home heating fuels.

We are also calling on the Conservative government to re-introduce the ecoENERGY Home Retrofit Program, so families can retrofit their homes and reduce their heating bills even further and cut greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.

As always, please contact me at the office with any concerns or questions at (902) 861-2311 or 1-888-701-5557.

I want to personally thank Lion Jim Bulger of Beaver Bank, and Ladies Auxiliary member Trina Marshall of the Waverley Legion, for laying wreaths on behalf of the HRM so I could attend at Windsor Jct. Also, thanks to students & staff at Lockview High School for putting on a very special Service the day before, it was a very touching ceremony and lets all of us know that you fully understand and appreciate the significance of this Day of Remembrance.

Fall is always a busy time of year and this year is no different; some updates in the district are:
- Transit plan to cut back on routes on the Beaver Bank Road. Our local Committee has met a number of times and came up with a modified schedule we felt are the minimum runs our community could accept. In early October, myself and Committee reps, including those from Porters Lake and Sambro Loop, met with Transit and had a very good exchange in this regard and we presented our proposals so they could be costed out.
As of this writing (Nov 12th) these costs and options are on HRM Council’s agenda for next weeks meeting where we will ask Council to agree to the proposals that will leave our Transit routes as beneficial to the community as possible. I certainly want to thank all of you that have signed the petition to save our transit routes and I will be presenting the 1,340 signatures next week.
- Fall River/Airport Transit Route. The property for the Park n Ride Station in Fall River has been purchased and the design for that station to be built (this coming Summer) has been tendered. Metro Transit is still having problems finding a company that makes safe and proper highway chassis’s for buses to travel on the highway to the Airport, but are making headway; planned opening of this new bus route is now late Fall of 2011 or Spring of 2012.
- Traffic Issues/Fall River & Area. The comprehensive traffic consultants study which included the area from Waverley thru Fall River and up into Wellington/Grand Lake is complete and has been presented to the Fall River Vision Committee. This study involves recommendations on both short and long term solutions to most of our traffic problems and includes all intersections and traffic problem areas. Along with the Shubenacadie Watershed Study which is also now complete, we will be presenting findings and holding public open meetings early in the new year. The future plans for development, by-laws and zones that the Vision Committee have been working on for the past few years are also very close to completion and will be presented.
- Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre Re-Build. The design work for the new building and grounds is virtually complete and HRM is completing the costing out of the new building and final settlement with the Insurance Company should be this week. There is a funding gap between the costs of the new building and the insurance funds and we will be going to Council very soon with a request for funding assistance from the HRM.

As you know by now we have recently lost another Hall in Beaver Bank due to fire, and this one was purposely set by an arsonist. Police are investigating to determine those responsible and I am asking if you have any information at all about this that you call the police, Crime Stoppers, or feel free to contact me – there are rewards for information that leads to the arrest of these individuals. As in most situations there is insurance on the building and contents but not enough to re-build the way it was so the Committee of the Brown Hall is starting a fundraising campaign for this purpose and the first item will be an Auction on Dec 11th, details will follow. If you’d like to attend or donate an item please contact me for details, we are in the process of meeting with HRM Planning to see if we can add a bit more room to the kitchen area and possibly add a second bathroom.

A number of area projects have recently been approved or started, some of them are:
- residents of Sunnylea Road in Wellington no doubt have seen the heavy equipment moving in this week. This is to extend the road and turn it into the turning “T” for school buses and plows that you have asked for, for so many years. There will be blasting involved in this project and as per your petition last year this will only be a dead-end turning “T”, it will not be a connector road.
- a few weeks ago the Marine Drive, Valley & Canal Community Council held a Public Hearing at the LWF Community Hall and at that meeting final approval was given for the Sobey’s expansion in Fall River. This expansion will add much needed store space to the actual Sobey’s grocery store and will also see the addition of a fairly large 2 story building to the far right of the property. Needed improvements to the entry roads, landscaping and design, are all included in the agreement and work is expected to begin as soon as all permits are obtained.
- On October 7th we held a Public Meeting in Lost Creek in regards to a request to add a local Area Rate for the sub/div to put towards building a park and playground. I certainly thank the Homeowners Association for organizing this meeting and to our HRM Park & Recreation Branch as well as Taxation staff for attending to answer all questions. Survey ballots were sent out to all residents within Lost Creek and in a vote of about 80% in favor, residents indicated they wish to proceed with this rate. The report and matter will now go before HRM Regional Council for a Public Hearing and vote.
- On November 8th I was especially pleased to attend the official opening of the new playground and equipment at the Beaver Bank Monarch Elementary School and see the excitement on both the students and their parents faces. Many thanks to principle, teachers and staff, parents group and various funding partners who raised the money to make this happen. I was happy to contribute your tax dollars from my Councilors District Fund to bump up the contribution from HRM Parks & Rec and make this happen so quickly.
- the update on the Delaney Drive park & playground is that the bike park and now the landscaping are in and complete, and the Association has found a local sponsor who will install the basketball court as soon as dry weather returns. The playground equipment is all ordered and expected to arrive soon and will be installed and this park will be complete. Congrats to the local volunteers who have made this happen.
- On November 6th the Regional Fire Fighters Interpretive Centre/Museum opened its doors to the public, fulfilling a dream of a dedicated group who have been trying to do this for more than a dozen years. This was a special preview peak as the Grand Opening will occur this Spring but tours can be arranged by contacting them at www.rfic.ca Located in the old Station 45 near Sobey’s visitors were very pleased to see the old fully restored trucks, gear and history of fire services in the area. I would certainly encourage our local schools to make arrangements for class visits.

There are a few special thanks and acknowledgements from the past month or so that I would like to make:
- a big thank you to the Fall River & District Lions Club for putting on its annual Seniors Appreciation Supper on October 20th at the LWF Hall, thanks to cooks and servers, Lions members, Scouts and volunteers for helping out.

- another terrific job this Summer by the volunteer members of the Union Cemetery Board. Our final meeting of the year was last month but if you stop and look at the restoration on the Cobequid Road you will now see a graveled parking lot & driveway, more flower gardens and recovered cemetery area, a new sign, and a storage building. Councilor Bob Harvey and I are very pleased to assist with funding for this project each year but it is the hundreds of volunteer hours put in by Board members that is getting the job done.
- On November 4th the Beaver Bank Volunteer Community Policing Office celebrated its 15th Anniversary of service to the community. A large RCMP presence along with Fire Chief Keddy and myself presented the group with Certificates of Appreciation and plaques to thank them for the years of service. Even with the loss of the Community Centre last year, which housed their office, the group has maintained their presence and continued on, we all appreciate the principle and staff at HT Barrett School for allowing them the use of the library there to keep working.

I have stated many times over the main reason I love this area and its communities is because of the tremendous efforts of our volunteer organizations and the full support the community gives those organizations and groups, I would like to just point out a few examples of your support in the past two weeks that I have had the privilege of attending:
- a sold out Dinner & Auction at the Oakfield Golf Course to raise funds for their Juniors Youth program.
- a jam packed Halloween Dance at the Waverley Legion with the “Sons of Maxwell”
- the Lockview High School football team Auction held at the Legion which raised over $15,000, thanks to the Scotiabank for its matching grant.
- the Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre Auction held at Angles in Sackville which raised over $8,000 and there wasn’t an empty chair in the place.

It is community and local business support like this that makes this area so special to live in.

Back to some HRM Regional Council happenings and updates. On Nov 10 the HRM’s Boundary Review Committee held an open public meeting at the Fall River Rec Centre. As I had told you in previous reports, this District is one of the highest in population in the HRM, and under current proposal of this review (if accepted) it will become the largest. Our Committee is prepared to present to the NSURB Board that there are very valid “Communities of Interest” reasons to support this recommendation and I fully support this. This was heavily backed up at the meeting the other night when over 20 residents of Lakeview showed up to send a loud and powerful message that they want to stay part of District 2, a letter from the full Lakeview Homeowners Association was presented also stating the desire to stay as is and I can assure residents that their message will be heard. The proposal I will take to the Committee and on to Council is that the only change to this District should be that the Enfield part of HRM be moved into District One.

I am also on the Energy & Underground Services Committee and was quite excited to receive a presentation from our Sustainable Environment Dept on a suggested HRM pilot project to heat hot water from Solar panels in residential homes. This pilot program recently passed thru the Committee and has been endorsed by HRM Council to proceed to final planning stages, when the final details are worked out the HRM will be looking for approximately 5000 homes to take part, for full details go to HRM website at www.halifax.ca

There are a lot of upcoming events all over the District and you can find many of these on various community websites, a few of them are as below:

Saturday, Nov 13th 1-3pm at old Beaver Bank Villa the Friends of Ivy Meadows will be showing off the brand new Access A Bus they have purchased for the Seniors at the Nursing Home there, many thanks to the HRM Grants Committee for contributing $12,000 to this project and I was pleased to assist in the funding from the Councilors Capital Fund.

Saturday, Nov 13th 7:00pm at the Church of the Good Shepherd there will be a bingo to assist in the fundraising by Lost Creek sub/div for their new park and playground.

Saturday, Nov 20th from 11:00am to 2:00pm at the Grand Lake Community Hall there will be a barbecue and family Fun Day to raise funds for a young 1 year old from Miller Lake sub/div that has been diagnosed with leukemia, please drop by and make a donation for a worthy cause.

Wednesday, Nov 24 at 7:00 at the Waverley Fire Hall the Waverley Sports Park Board is hosting an open public meeting. We are looking for your thoughts and vision of what the future should now hold for the Park. There are miles of developed trails in the park, sitting areas and benches/gazebo’s on the lake, lots of wild life, and the new baseball field will be built there soon, but currently the gates are locked due to lack of funding and an inability of the current volunteer board to maintain it, we are looking for ideas and another fresh start.

Thursday, Nov 25 at 7:00 at the Fall River Rec Centre there will be an RCMP Town Hall (open public) meeting with various police reps in attendance to do a presentation, hear concerns and answer questions. This is an opportunity for you to speak with your local officers.

Sunday, Nov 28 this years Fall River Lions Christmas Express Parade will depart the LWF Community Hall on Fall River Road at 1:00 and go down to the parking lot at Sobeys – please note this is the first year the parade will end at Sobeys, food donations are gratefully accepted.

Sunday, Nov 28 this years Beaver Bank Lions Club Parade of Lights will depart Barrett Lumber on the Beaver Bank Road at 6:00pm and work its way up to the Beaver Bank Kinsac Elementary School. Anyone interested in entering one or both parades can call me, we’d love to have you.
Monday, Nov 29th at 7:30 the Waverley Ratepayers will be holding a special meeting at the Waverley Legion that is open to the public. Along with this being their AGM and election of officers we will be discussing ending the Area Rate on sidewalks and discuss various traffic calming items.

Two final reminders, the first one is that winter is right around the corner and everyone by now should have their winter tires on as temperatures are dropping below freezing most nights and slippery patches are probable. Driving habits should be changing as well, motorists need to slow down and anticipate slippery patches – there is never an excuse for being in a hurry.

The HRM Service line number is 490-4000 and is open 7 days a week from 7am to 11pm, if you are looking for a service such as street grading, snow plowing, ditch cleaning please call the service line and operators will take your call and issue you a file number, they will then dispatch your call immediately to the Dept responsible.

Warmest regards, Barry

As Summer sports wind down I would like to also congratulate the players and coaches of the LWF Minor Baseball Association & the Tri County organization.  LWF teams won league championships in Bantam and Mosquito Divisions and its Tri County Midget team put in a great performance at the Canadian National Championships.  With over 400 kids we desperately needed more fields and we thank the community of Grand Lake for its partnership and offer of its ball field in return for our maintaining and upkeep of the field and rebuilding of dug-outs, bleachers etc – baseball made a very big return to Grand Lake this Summer.

A number of this years Parks & Playground projects have recently been finished or are very close to being completed.  New playgrounds being installed at schools are almost complete at Waverley Elementary and Beaver Bank Monarch, while the tender for the new one at Delaney Drive has been issued with work to be done asap.  The new bike parks at Delaney and Beaver Bank Commons are in and finished and new additional equipment at the Beaver Bank Skate Park is also complete.  We have already begun planning and fund raising phases for recreation or playgrounds for next year for Grand Lake, Lakeview, Oaken Hills, Lost Creek & HT Barrett School.

Very unfortunately, not always does the work of volunteers and residents get rewarded.  Last month the Provincial Gov’t and its Dept of Natural Resources decided to turn down the request from the Waverley Sports Park Board to partner with TreeGo and bring an exciting recreational outdoor adventure park that is wildly successful all over the world.  At a time when jobs are being lost and residents are flocking to Moncton and other places, a wonderful opportunity that would have been terrific for this area and for the entire local community and one which would not have cost the Gov’t one cent was turned away at the last minute leaving the volunteer board wondering if its worth staying on.

Coming up next week is the one year anniversary date of the loss of our Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre and I want to pass on my deepest appreciation to those residents on the Re-building  and the Fundraising Committees who have worked tirelessly on getting this Centre back up and running.l  I can assure residents that a pheonominal amount of work has been done and the design phase is almost complete.   The tender to begin drilling bore holes for the geo thermal heating system went out last week and we are getting close to seeing actual site work done.  You will see a bigger, better building beginning soon.

Most of you have also seen many of this years Municipal Operations projects in the area finishing up, we had a very good spring with projects and I am pleased to say, an even better late summer/fall.  The re-paving of Windgate Drive is complete and Jamison Drive in Fall River is getting close to finished, the streets in Brookhill Estates in Grand Lake are about halfway done and should be finished by the time this is published.  We do apologize for occasional road closures but there are times it is impossible not to do them. Recently Windgate had to be closed off for a day to allow the replacement of a major culvert there and currently the Cobequid Road between Waverley & Windsor Jct is closed as we are replacing the entire Robinson Bridge.  After a bit of a delay the new sidewalks are currently being installed on the Beaver Bank Road so please expect some delay thru there but its worth it.

I know many of you have been asking about the transit situation in Beaver Bank; after meeting with residents last month we have formed a Committee to assist with this and they have met every week since.  In response to a Motion I made to Council 6 weeks ago about options and costs of keeping our runs the Committee has come up with a written proposal which is being handed to Transit to cost out.  I also ask residents to sign the petition going around the community and I am aware that over 1,000 of you have already signed – thank you.  As of this past Tuesday, Councillor’s Adams and Hendsbee and their Committee’s, will also be meeting with us for a joint proposal to go forth to Council, we will keep you posted  in this regard.

For Fall River residents the Development Agreement request that Sobeys has in to HRM, to allow for expansion of their main store and erection of additional buildings on site, is very close to being completed and I expect that within the next 2 weeks I will be able to give notice of a Public Meeting sometime in October on this request.

I’ll end this column with two pieces of information for you, one is for those new to the area or who may not know the HRM Service line is  490-4000, it is open and will be answered from 7am to 11pm 7 days a week.  If you have a request for an HRM Service such as pot holes, mowing or missing street please report it in, a file will be taken and dispatched to the appropriate Dept and you will be given a file number in case of need for follow up.

Finally, school is in and students are settling into their school year, but speed zones are reduced near schools and you mush slow down.  Speeding continues to be a problem all through our sub/div’s and streets and I continue to request even more speed patrols and tickets, there is no excuse for being in a hurry on our residential streets.

Enjoy our beautiful Nova Scotia Fall Season,
Barry

Since January 1, 2009, Canadians over the age of 18 can contribute up to $5,000 annually to a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) and any unused TFSA contribution room is carried forward for future years.  But if at any time during a calendar month you have exceeded your TFSA contribution limit, you will be subject to a tax of 1% per month.  To avoid further tax charges, you will need to withdraw the excess contributions from your account.  And to avoid the 1% tax charges altogether, do not exceed the $5,000 annual limit or your personal TFSA contribution limit in a given year.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) issued letters to TFSA holders who may have over-contributed to their TFSA on June 1, 2010.  If you received a letter, you will be required to provide more information to CRA.  You can also request relief of this tax if the tax liability arose because of a reasonable error.   For more information on TFSA’s, please refer to www.tfsa.gc.ca.

Census Debacle

Many organizations are calling for the Harper government to re-instate the mandatory long form census.  The government announced last month that it was going to turn the long form census into a short voluntary form because they received privacy complaints from Canadians.  The change could also cost taxpayers $30 million dollars.

The issue has gained momentum with the resignation of the Chief Statistician of Statistics Canada.  Many groups including businesses, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Council on Social Development and many others point out that the quality of data collected voluntarily becomes unusable and cannot be compared over time. The move also puts Canada out of step with how other western countries collect data.

The Census is used to help all levels of government develop policies and programs to address a wide range of challenges ranging from affordable housing, public transit and health services to new electoral riding distributions. It is also important to genealogists.

New Democrats have called for the re-instatement of the census long form as it is the only comprehensive data collected in Canada to gather concrete data about Canadians in their local neighbourhoods.

Protecting the food we eat: A Need for a Federal Food Policy

A recent report issued by the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture and the Ecology Action Centre show that only 13% of the food dollar we spend goes to local farmers.  This is down from the 17% we spent on local food eleven years ago.  It is a surprising find, given that many Canadians seem much more aware of the benefits of buying local food.

Federal New Democrats recently issued a “Food for Thought” report that outlines the need for a national food policy. The report is based on consultations with community groups, farmers, and other stakeholders.  The report recommends that the federal government develop a national strategy to address food-related issues.  We also recommend incentives to promote local food production, local farmers markets, stronger environmental and health standards for imported food, and proper labels on food with information on its origin, nutritional value, and whether it has been genetically modified.

As always, please contact me at my office with any concerns or questions at (902)-861-2311 or 1-888-701-5557.

First, the tax news. As you know, the HST was restored to its former 15 per cent on July 1. “Nobody likes taxes. Not you, not me, not anybody,” said Finance Minister Graham Steele. “But we all like great public health care, a quality education system, decent roads, a sustainable environment, and good jobs. And it’s taxes that pay for those things.” The government introduced this HST measure as part of its multi-year plan to get Nova Scotia’s finances back to balance. Another key part of that plan is government spending restraint, including freezing wages for MLAs, senior officials and political staff.

Starting in July, children’s clothing and shoes, diapers and feminine hygiene products are exempt from provincial HST. To further protect people with low or modest incomes from the effects of the HST, the government’s new Affordable Living Tax Credit came into effect on July 1. Households earning less than $30,000 will automatically receive quarterly payments adding up to about $240 a year, with $57 a year for each dependent child. Households earning up to $34,800 will also qualify for a portion of the tax credit. Seniors with low and modest incomes are also eligible. To further protect low-income seniors, the government did the right thing by ensuring that seniors who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement will no longer have to pay any provincial income tax.

It is important to remember that people will still need to file their income taxes each year to qualify for federal and provincial tax rebates such as the GST credit, child tax credit, and Affordable Living Tax Credit.  If you are a Waverley – Fall River – Beaver Bank resident with a total household income under $25,000 last year, you can complete your return free of charge at my office with Quick Tax software. Just phone my assistant, Megan, at 860-4004 to make an appointment. We’ll walk you through it.

FLU SHOT WILL BE FREE THIS YEAR

No one wants to think of grim winter flu in the glorious days of summer. However, the Department of Health Promotion and Protection is planning ahead for the 2010/2011 flu season. H1N1 could be one of the main influenza strains next winter, so the government will be providing free seasonal flu vaccines for all Nova Scotians. In previous years, the province’s flu program covered certain at-risk groups. This year, the vaccination will be available to everyone. The province’s flu vaccination program typically begins in October.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS ANTI-CLIMATE-CHANGE PROJECTS

Nova Scotia is already experiencing climate change. According to our province’s Climate Change Directorate, the average temperature in Nova Scotia rose by 0.5 degrees Celsius over the past century, and the amount of rain and snow in Atlantic Canada rose by 10 per cent between 1948 and 1995. And here’s a sobering thought: by 2050, summers here will be two degrees to four degrees warmer than they were in 2005. There’s no doubt the effects of climate change are extremely serious: rising sea levels; more frequent extreme rainfalls; changes in temperatures that affect plants, animals, and our way of life.

Tackling climate change requires two approaches. First, we must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Almost half of Nova Scotia’s emissions come from the electricity sector.  Shortly after last year’s election, our government brought in strict emissions caps, and made a commitment to get one-quarter of the province’s energy from renewable sources within the next five years.

Second, we need plans to adapt to climate change. A new Climate Change Adaptation Fund aims to encourage local, innovative ideas to deal with the effects of climate change. The fund, initially set at $25,000, is for projects that help Nova Scotia become better suited to deal with effects of climate change, or assess threats and opportunities related to climate change. The fund is open to organizations, businesses, schools, municipalities, community groups or individuals. The deadline for submitting projects is Aug. 3. You can find more information about the Climate Change Adaptation Fund online at climatechange.gov.ns.ca, or by calling 424-0782.

As always, I encourage you to phone or stop by my office for assistance with any matters that are important to you. Best wishes for a safe and fulfilling summer.

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Getting a good education today is more difficult. There are increased class sizes and budget cuts. It’s not the fault of the school or teachers; it is a sign of the times. So when is it good time to find a tutor?

First consider the subject matter. Is your child struggling with the basics; reading, math, writing, spelling, even printing? If this is the case, seek help right away. Catching the problem earlier is best, but no matter what age, any student can and will benefit.

Not the basics? Is it the subject matter? Ask yourself, is this something you understand? For instance, you haven’t sat in a Math class for fifteen years, are you going to be able to help your child? Can you explain it to your child without confusing them more?

Below are some of the signs indicating it might be best to hire a tutor.

Are you starting to feel like the bad guy?

Do you feel like you are spending homework time telling your child what they are doing wrong opposed to what they are doing correctly?

Does this sound familiar “Yeah, Yeah – I get it”

Is your child tolerating you when you are trying to help? Signs are rolling of the eyes and lots of sighs. Are you seeing results from this tutoring time compared to the amount of time you are working together?

Is homework time “struggle time”?

If doing homework leads to a power struggle that develops into daily fights and stress, don’t ignore this sign. Children will try to avoid doing work they don’t understand, even starting a fight to avoid it. By the way, most children won’t listen to their parents when it comes to tutoring (you are not alone) but ignoring it will not make the problem go away.

Are you “doing” the homework instead of “helping”?

Do you find that you are doing the homework while your child watches? You might be helping to keep their grades up, but this is not helping your child. If your child is not doing the work, what happens when it comes to test time? The child is the one sitting in the classroom, not you; they need to be able to do the work as well as understand it. So if you are a parent that can’t resist “doing” the work, then you shouldn’t “help” them.

Does your child have a Learning Disability and require the extra help? Is your child trying but the grades are not showing it? Is their homework incomplete? Is their confidence level decreasing and/or are they not motivated to go to school? Are they anxious about tests? Is the teacher complaining that your child is misbehaving? These could be signs of academic problems; big or small they won’t get better without your help. If you have answered yes to any of these questions, do some research and find a way to help your struggling learner.

Finally, if you do decide to outsource your learning, make sure the student knows that they must work with the tutors to get results. They too need to be committed to use the new effective habits and to break the old ones. Attendance is paramount. Even the best tutors are not miracle workers. We too need the support and help of both the students and parents.

Do you have any questions about this article, or require more information? Please feel free to contact Toby at Miller Lake Learning Center – 576-READ (7323).

Toby Humphreys is the owner/operator of Miller Lake Learning Center located in Fall River. ©Miller Lake Learning Services Inc. 2010

The Navy is facing $3 million in cuts to its reserve divisions. This five percent budget reduction is unfortunate during what should be a year celebrating and strengthening Canada’s navy.

The cuts are expected to reduce training for reserve members.  This will affect morale, recruitment, and readiness to serve.

I have suggested that there are many other ways the Defence Department can save money rather than cutting the navy’s reserves.
The cuts to the navy’s reserves follow a decision in May that ordered half of the navy’s coastal patrol vessels tied up due to budgetary and staff shortfalls.  This order was reversed by the Chief of the Defence Staff but it was not clear where the Harper government found the funds to address the Navy’s budgetary shortfall.

New Democrats pass unanimous motion on oil spill review

The oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico has been a devastating environmental disaster.  Experts have estimated that between 25,000 and 30,000 barrels of oil have spilled into the Gulf each day.  At the time this column was written, officials with the British Petroleum (BP) were still trying to cap the leaking well.

After seeing the destruction in the Gulf of Mexico, Canadians became very concerned that this type of spill could happen here.  That is why New Democrats put forward a motion that called on the government to immediately conduct a thorough and transparent review of all relevant laws, regulations and policies regarding oil and gas exploration.  We needed to be proactive to ensure that any gaps in regulations were closed to prevent a similar disaster from ever happening here in Canada.

All government and opposition MPs voted unanimously for a review of all relevant federal laws, regulations and policies regarding the development of unconventional sources of oil and gas, including oil sands, shale gas and arctic and deep sea drilling. Unfortunately the Harper government has so far only committed to a limited and inadequate review by the National Energy Board.

Improvements Needed for EI sickness benefits

My colleague Fin Donnelly (New Westminster – Coquitlam & Port Moody) recently introduced a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons that would extend medical Employment Insurance benefits for those suffering from chronic or long-term illnesses.  His bill would increase EI sickness benefits from the existing 15 weeks up to a maximum of 52 weeks.

Donnelly was moved to action after he met a constituent that was experiencing great financial strain while fighting cancer.

Currently, people who are fighting cancer or any other chronic illness are only eligible for 15 weeks of sick benefits.  “People should not have to worry about how they are going to pay their bills when they are fighting cancer,” said Donnelly. “They should be able to focus on recovery.”

We are hopeful that this gap in the Employment Insurance Act will be addressed.  Almost one-third of all sickness claims are now exhausted before the beneficiary returns to work, leaving many individuals with no benefits or income while they continue to recover.

I also continue to work on extending Compassionate Care Employment Insurance benefits.   Currently family caregivers are only entitled to 6 weeks of Employment Insurance when they have to be away from work temporarily to provide care or support to a family member who is gravely ill and who has a significant risk of death within six months.  I am hoping that the government will extend the benefit period for up to 26 weeks.

Possible Fall Election

Canadians may be heading to the polls again this fall.  It is anticipated that Harper will call an election in September or October.
If you would like your name added to the potential list of Elections Canada poll clerks or Deputy Returning Officers for paid work on Election Day, please call our office.  We forward all names to Elections Canada after the election is called and they make the final decision on hiring within a couple of weeks after the election is called.  You can reach our office at 1-888-701-5557 or 902-861-2311.