Weekly Column from Kenora MP Eric Melillo
Dear Constituents,
I hope everyone’s been staying safe during this cold snap!
Supporting Local Communities
I appreciated the opportunity to speak at the Kenora District Municipal Association conference last week. I enjoyed speaking with municipal officials about the impacts of federal policy on local communities, particularly with regard to policing costs and infrastructure funding, and ways in which our levels of government may be able to work together to advance shared priorities.
Securing our Supply Chains
The government’s new vaccine mandate for transport truck drivers is not only unnecessarily punitive to the drivers but will also have a number of unintended consequences. With fewer trucks moving, Canadian companies will see their operations impacted by not being able to export to the United States as easily. On the other side, Canadians will pay the price for supply shortages of items coming into the county.
At a time when inflation is already rising to record levels, this mandate will only make the cost of living higher for Canadian families. There’s a reason truck drivers were exempted from the Canada/US border closure earlier in the pandemic – they were deemed essential to our economy. They remain essential now, and the Liberals should reverse this unfair and misguided policy.
Working for You
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora) or email me at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.