Newsletter - aug. 27, 2022

This week, I joined the Oakville Chamber of Commerce to meet with Black, Indigenous, and racialized business owners and entrepreneurs. We discussed the lived realities of operating a minority-owned business in our community and the ways that we can continue to create new opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and racialized Oakville residents.

Throughout the pandemic, our government has provided essential support programs to ensure that Canadians were protected and workers and businesses got the help they need. Now, we are focused on delivering targeted supports to build a strong and resilient economy. 

Last year, the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund started accepting applications from Black business owners and entrepreneurs. It seeks to address the specific systemic barriers Black business owners have too often faced when seeking financing. It also demonstrates our government's commitment to addressing these barriers with long-term solutions by co-developing programs to better support Black entrepreneurs on their road to success. The program provides loans up to $250,000 to Black business owners and entrepreneurs across the country, helping Black-Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs grow their businesses and succeed now and into the future.

In Budget 2022, our government announced our plan to support Indigenous small and medium-size businesses by forgiving up to 50 per cent of the COVID-Indigenous Business Initiative loans that supported businesses in need during the pandemic. This will help ensure that Indigenous-owned businesses are positioned for long-term success.

These are just a few examples of the types of investments we are making to support racialized business owners across Canada, including right here in Oakville. I sincerely thank the roundtable participants for the candid and meaningful conversations, and I look forward to meeting on an ongoing basis.

Visit to Newfoundland and Labrador
This week, I met with members of our Canadian Armed Forces in northern Canada to thank them for their important work and dedication to protecting our country. Across Canada, our Canadian Armed Forces are making the most important contribution they can to ensure Canada’s safety and security.

At 5 Wing Goose Bay in Labrador, I was able to see firsthand the impacts that our plan to upgrade NORAD will have. 5 Wing Goose Bay conducts and supports a wide variety of operations, including both joint and combined training, with a primary focus on supporting NORAD operations. These upgrades will enable Canada to better deploy and sustain operations across the country, including in the North – enhancing Canada’s ability to defend our sovereignty and contribute to North American security.

Visit to Nunavut & Alberta
In Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, I joined the Prime Minister and NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, to discuss defence and security in the Arctic. We toured the Cambridge Bay North Warning System site, met with Inuit community leaders, and visited the Canadian High Arctic Research Station. We also met with Canadian Armed Forces personnel from Operation NANOOK, Canada's signature northern operation designed to exercise the defence of Canada and to secure our north.

In Cold Lake, Alberta, we began the day with a productive discussion with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg about Canada’s important role in responding to Euro-Atlantic security challenges. We then visited 4 Wing Cold lake – Canada's busiest fighter base. It hosts Canada's world-class tactical fighter training and can deploy fighter aircraft at a moment’s notice. It was wonderful to thank the members for their contributions to Allied security.

At a time when autocratic regimes are threatening the rules-based international order and new, advanced weapons technologies are being developed by competitors, these investments in NORAD will be essential in protecting Canadians in the decades ahead. We will remain firm and unwavering in defending Canada’s sovereignty, the peoples and communities of the North, and our national interests.

Handgun Importation Ban
One life lost to gun violence is one too many. Recently, we have seen a disturbing rise in these heinous crimes here in Oakville. Our communities should be safe places to live, raise children, and spend time with friends and family. As part of our comprehensive approach toward ending gun violence, beginning on August 19, we have imposed a temporary ban on the importation of restricted handguns to keep dangerous firearms off our streets.

However, we know that no single program or initiative can tackle the challenge of gun violence on its own. That is why the ban is just one of the many elements in our comprehensive plan to keep Canadians safe. Beginning at our borders, we have added resources to fight smuggling and stop guns from coming into Canada. We are investing in prevention programs to tackle the root causes of gun crime and stop it before it starts, ending the cycle of gun and gang violence. Lastly, we recently introduced Bill C-21, which includes a national freeze on handgun ownership, new “red flag” laws to stop domestic violence, and tougher penalties for organized crime.

We are taking the most significant action to end gun violence in a generation.

Canada Summer Jobs Visit
This week, my office visited the Muslim Advisory Council of Canada to chat with Canada Summer Jobs students about their experience this summer. The Muslim Advisory Council of Canada does important work in our community to advocate for Muslim Canadians to address health, education and employment outcomes. Many thanks to Tabassum and the entire team for the warm welcome.

Gun Buyback Program
In 2020, our government announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms. Beyond banning these firearms, we are also working to establish a buyback program to remove assault-style firearms from our communities for good.

Earlier this summer, we took the next step to implementing this buyback by publishing our proposed price list. The list details the compensation that owners would receive for their firearms. Currently, we are welcoming the opinions and insights of firearms owners on the proposed list.

Last week, as part of these consultations, I joined Minister Mendicino, my Halton colleagues, and our municipal counterparts to discuss the federal buyback program. I sincerely appreciated the insights of our municipal and public safety officials. Together, we are committed to keeping our communities safe. 

Visiting Oakville Businesses
After our productive discussion, I invited Minister Mendicino join me in downtown Oakville to visit with and showcase some of the new shops that have opened in our downtown core. Cinnaholic and Pilot Coffeehouse are located on Lakeshore Rd and I encourage everyone to pay them a visit and enjoy their delectable treats. It is so wonderful to see our small businesses not only grow, but thrive!

Justice O'Bonsawin Nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada
Last week, the Prime Minister announced the nomination of the Honourable Michelle O'Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice O’Bonsawin is an accomplished jurist and has been a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa since 2017. A fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian, she is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation. Justice O’Bonsawin is the first Indigenous person to be nominated to the Supreme Court. Her nomination represents an historic step forward for the Court and Canada.