With the fall upon us, the House of Commons has returned for the second session of the 39th Parliament. I enjoyed a great summer here in the Okanagan and had the opportunity to talk with many of you. Our riding is growing rapidly. Infrastructure in particular will require support from all levels of government. You can be assured that I will be talking with the respective Ministers to ensure that our priorities are addressed effectively.

The government continues to set a robust agenda for the fall session and have already achieved two major goals. The Softwood Lumber Agreement easily passed in the House and we now are debating C-24 the enabling legislation for the Agreement.

As well, on September 26th, the government announced the results of its program review. Over a billion dollars in savings was announced and an unprecedented $13. 2-billion was paid down on our national debt. The result will have a long-term positive impact on all of us by reducing both the tax burden for future generations and the cost of financing debt.

There is no denying that local groups will feel the effects and their concerns will need to be addressed. The Opposition in the House of Commons has already started to characterize the government as one that doesn’t support the Arts, women, aboriginals, literacy and the list goes on. There are still many programs and funding avenues designed to support each of these groups.

The truth is that cutbacks, as unpopular as they are, are necessary. If you balance the budget in your own home you know what I’m talking about. Families deal with limited budgets and need to identify priorities. It isn’t any different for a responsible government. Previous governments avoided making the tough decisions and relied on raising taxes instead. Our government believes spending tax dollars should first focus on areas of federal jurisdiction, particularly those that have a positive effect on the economy, and thus benefit the greatest number of Canadians. The government is determined to bring fiscal responsibility back to federal spending.

Announcements that constituents can look forward to this fall include the unveiling of the ‘Clear Air Act’ which will provide a concrete and tangible plan for reducing pollution in Canada and preserving our environmental heritage for future generation. We will not be donating billions of your tax dollars to foreign nations like the Liberals planned to under the Kyoto framework Instead we will be investing that money here in Canada to ensure Canadians receive the benefits of cleaner air and the development of technologies that will promote clean, sustainable resources. Furthermore, we will be using a framework that will reduce emissions. Under Kyoto, Canada was unable to reduce or reach its emissions targets.

Our government will also be moving forward on the remaining aspects of our crime package. Our government is in the process of abolishing conditional sentences and instituting mandatory minimum sentences for several categories of crimes such as street racing, sexual predators, and offenses involving firearms.

This firearms initiative to tighten up gun laws in Canada is particularly important. We were all shocked and saddened by the recent tragic events at Montreal’s Dawson college. While critics used the opportunity to criticize the government for its plan to devolve the long gun registry, the Prime Minister was quick to point out that that the gun registry did not prevent the Dawson College tragedy. He asked the opposition to support tougher laws for offenses involving firearms and has asked the acting commissioner and the deputy commissioner of the RCMP to accumulate all the facts so that the government can strengthen its future actions to ensure that we reduce all possibility of unstable individuals from getting a hold of firearms.

It is important to point out that it was the Montreal Police and their quick response that prevented further death and injury. How many more police could have been put on the streets in our communities had the previous government not wasted $1 billion dollars on a gun registry that has proved to be ineffective in stopping crimes like those at Dawson college? More police walking our streets will make our communities safer.

As for me, I will be spending much of my time this session championing issues of local importance. My number one priority is infrastructure. Sadly there was yet another fatality on September 15th on Hwy 97. This is one in a long string of accidents regarding this stretch of highway. We need cooperation from both the federal and provincial governments to find the funding. I had a chance to speak with Premier Campbell in Ottawa this week and my staff had a chance to speak with Minister Falcon in Kelowna. Both are aware that from our perspective Highway 97 needs to go to the top of the list of priorities so that we can make Highway 97 safer.

I am also working on finding federal funding to extend the runway at Kelowna International Airport. By accommodating international flights, the region will be able to attract more tourists and our economy will benefit greatly. Furthermore, the airport will be able to take advantage of the traffic that will be generated by the 2010 Olympic Games. This can only be a boon for our tourism and hospitality industry.

Amid the good news lie some much tougher problems. Our apple growers are in crisis and require help. I have been working with our apple growers to lobby the government to recognize the unique problems facing our fruitgrowers and to develop a solution so that our farmers are not forced to abandon their orchards. The government recognizes that horticulture is a unique industry in Canada and the Department of Agriculture has been directed by the Minister of Agriculture, Chuck Strahl, to create a horticultural strategy. The solutions are not easy and will require the willing participation of other levels of government. We have seen the positive benefits of initiatives such as the elimination of the 20% excise tax on the wine industry. Now we need to see measures to ensure the vitality of our fruit growing industry.

Finally, I continue to try to move forward on some longstanding files. The Department of Foreign Affairs is currently doing a business study to see if a passport office in Kelowna will be viable. Passport offices are self-financing, meaning the revenues they generate support the operation of the office. The demands on passport services continue to grow in the region and should be able to support a full time office in Kelowna.