Colin Mayes, MP -- Okanagan - Shuswap - Mayes Minutes

June 01, 2010

Government Happenings

UPDATE ON THE ABOLISHMENT OF THE LONG-GUN REGISTRY:

Bill C-391, introduced by MP Candace Hoeppner, was approved by Parliament on second reading and sent to committee. This bill will return to Parliament to be voted on and if approved will be passed to the Senate for approval and Royal Ascent.

The Auditor General in her 2006 report, condemned the current gun registry as inefficient, wasteful and containing unreliable data. The original cost was to be $2 million. To date, $2 billion has been spent.
This bill would eliminate the long-gun registry. Handguns and automatic weapons will still require registration.
Persons owning long-guns will still need to have a license, store the firearms in a safe, locked place and be required to take firearm handling training.
Those purchasing a firearm from a retailer will still be registered at the time of sale as the owner of the firearm.
Criminals do not register their firearms. 59% of all gun-related homicides in Canada are committed with handguns; 93% of those handguns are smuggled into Canada. Only 28% of homicides were committed with long-guns, and of that only 3.5% were registered long-guns.
Because there will never be 100% compliance with the Long-Gun Registry, police can never be certain of the information they receive from the Long-Gun Registry Data Center.

UPDATE ON THE ABOLISHMENT OF OAS FOR FEDERAL PRISONERS:

On Tuesday, June 1, 2010, Minister Finley and Senator Boisvenu took steps to eliminate government entitlements for federally incarcerated criminals.
Canadians who work hard, contribute to the system and play by the rules deserve government benefits such as Old Age Security.
It is wrong and obviously unfair that prisoners who broke the rules receive the same entitlements.
Our proposed changes will ensure mass murders like Clifford Olson do not receive entitlements while in jail.
Implementation will begin with inmates who are incarcerated in federal penitentiaries for two years or more. We will work with provinces and territories to continue implementation in provincial and territorial institutions for criminals serving sentences of greater than 90 days.

Weekly Poll

Last week’s poll results:
Our Minister of Finance, the Honourable James Flaherty did not endorse a special tax on all banks in order to build a International reserve for bailouts. Canadian Banks did
not need government money to bail them out so why should we pay an international bank tax to support banks in countries without a regulatory framework?

Do you agree with our government’s position?
No - 2%
Yes - 97%

This week’s poll question:

Do you agree that our government should scrap the long-gun registry and hire more law enforcement officers with the money saved?

I would like to hear from you on this issue.
You can cast your vote at www.colinmayes.ca.

Meetings & Delegations

The house was on break from May 17-24th. During this time I visited the kind staff at the Vernon Hospital for a minor procedure and spent a few days recovering around home.
On May 20, 2010, I attended the 23rd Annual Vernon Woman of the Year Dinner. Congratulations to Shelley Haslett who is the 2010 Vernon Woman of the Year!

Over the May long weekend I attended the 92nd Annual Falkland Stampede. Congratulations to Falkland on another wonderful weekend!

Upon my return to Ottawa, I met with the Mayor of Sicamous, His Worship, Malcolm Mac Leod and Mrs. Mac Leod on May 25.
May 27th, I had the honour of hearing His Excellency Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, President of United Mexican States’ address to Senators and MPs in the House of Commons.

On June 1st, I attended a presentation by the Pacific Salmon Foundation to celebrate and discuss current issues and opportunities of Canada’s Pacific Salmon resource.

During the week of May 24, the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs continued its study on the New Veterans Charter and the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure
and Communities, reviewed the Main Estimates, Toyota’s recalls as well as the safety procedures followed last December 2009 and January 2010. We also discussed MP Tim Uppal’s Bill, C-442, the National Holocaust Monument Act.

Building Communities Through Arts & Heritage Program

The Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program was created to help you celebrate your community, its past and its present. The Program will increase opportunities, through festivals and other events and activities, for local artists and artisans to be involved in their community and for local groups to commemorate their local history and heritage.
Eligible events and activities must be local - created by and for your community. They must be open and accessible to the public and strongly encourage and promote the participation of everyone in your community.
The Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage Program delivers its funding through three separate components. The components are administered independently and have separate guidelines and application forms. Refer to the guidelines and application forms that correspond to the component to which you are applying.

Local Festivals
The Local Festivals component provides funding to local groups for recurring festivals that present the work of local artists, artisans or historical performers.
Community Anniversaries
The Community Anniversaries component provides funding to local groups for non-recurring local events and capital projects that commemorate a local historical anniversary of 100 years or greater.
Legacy Fund
The Legacy Fund provides funding for community capital projects that commemorate a local historical anniversary of 100 years or greater.

The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2010. You can find application information online at www.pch.gc.ca or call Heritage Canada toll free at 1-866-811-0055.

Recent Okanagan-Shuswap funding under this program includes:

Salmon Arm Folk Music Society(Roots & Blues) - $130,000 to present two successive years of programming, from 2010 to 2012. Included in this programming is the 18th Annual Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, August 13-16, 2010, and the 19th Annual Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, August 12-14, 2011.

Vernon and District Performing Arts Society - $120,000 to support their 2010 (January 1 to December 31, 2010) and their 2011 (January 1 to December 31, 2011) programming years.

Local Events

Okanagan Potters Association Spring Sale—June 4-6, 2010 at the Best Western Vernon Lodge. Visit www.okanaganpotters.ca for more details.
Kindale Open House - June 17, 2010 3-5pm at 23A - 3300 Smith Drive, Armstrong. Phone: 250-546-3005.
Relay for Life - June 5-6, 2010 from 7pm to 7am at Polson Park in Vernon. Visit www.cancer.ca/relay
Creative Chaos - June 4-6, 2010 at the Vernon Recreation Complex. www.creativechaoscrafts.com
North Okanagan Therapeutic Riding Association Ride-A-Thon - June 27, 2010. For more information contact 250-308-4830.
Alzheimer Society Free Telephone Workshop - June 24, 2010 from 7-8pm. Call 1-866-396-2433.
Seniors Resource Fair at Piccadilly Mall - June 5, 2010 from 10am - 5pm.

Local Events Listings

The event listing page at www.colinmayes.ca/events continues to be a useful feature for my website visitors, and the listing is filled with exciting events. Most events are family-friendly and free.