Andrew Gill’s Blog

On Tuesday April 20th I had the pleasure of attending the City of St. Catharines Volunteer Appreciation Dinner where we honored all of the volunteers that make our City such a great place to live.  I had the privilege along with many of my fellow City Councillors to present the certificates to many of the volunteers in attendance. We are very lucky to have so many dedicated people working extremely hard in making our City the great place that it is.

A big thank you for a job well done to all of our volunteers!

Andy

On Sunday April 19^th I was pleased to have been invited by my friends at Climate Action Niagara to MC their 3^rdAnnual Niagara Eco Fest held at Niagara College. As a City Councillor I have had the privilege to work very closely with members of Climate Action Niagara on some very important issues in St. Catharines such as the City by-law prohibiting pesticide use, an anti-idling bylaw, greening initiatives across St. Catharines as well as a Community Garden in Centennial Park. The dedication of these community volunteers is simply amazing; they have accomplished so much for our environment and community in such a short time. Great job Climate Action Niagara!

As everyone in St. Catharines knows we have been hit very hard by the economic downturn. Our unemployment numbers for our city have climbed to become the second highest in the country, which is why I cannot understand the Harper governments plan to sneak in a job killing EI tax hike. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business this payroll tax will kill 200,000 jobs and cause the average Canadian’s wage to drop 1.5%. What’s even worse is that this new tax will be snuck in without a vote in the House of Commons!

The residents of St. Catharines cannot afford this type of tax hike and deserve better, which is why I am proud to be part of the Liberal team that is working hard to create jobs and reduce EI premiums.

We had a great night on Friday at Big Marco’s restaurant for our fundraiser supporting the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The night was a huge success that allowed us to raise a lot of money that will go directly towards the Canadian Red Cross’ efforts helping our friends in Haiti. A big thank you needs to go out to Robert and Remo from Big Marco’s, two very active members of our community, who treated a full house to a fabulous meal that everyone really enjoyed. I would like to thank all the members of the St. Catharines community who joined us last night to help those that have been affected by this tragic event.

View all of the pictures from this great night »

Last night my children and I, along with my friends Jim Bradley, Mayor McMullan, and Councillor Kushner were invited to attend the Grand Opening of the new Ridley College Arena. It was an amazing evening that started with a fun game between the Buffalo Sabres Alumni and the Ridley College Alumni before the official dedication. We ran into many friends during the event and had a great time.The facility is something Ridley should be very proud of. The new ice rink is an absolutely beautiful, state of the art, LEED certified facility that will serve the College well for many years to come. What really surprised me was how the College reused the old rink to create a dry land sports facility and how spectacular the finished product was. The old arena (which I played quite a bit of hockey in) was transformed into multi use facility that even has a running track!

Congratulations Ridley!

On Wednesday January 27th I had the opportunity, along with nine other people, to become a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 138! It was a very proud moment for me and I feel privileged to be a part of such a wonderful organization. St. Catharines is lucky to have so many active Branches in our City, and the impact they have on our residents is tremendous!  At my very first meeting we were able to buy three  new beds for a local nursing home and help a young member of our community in her goal to attend a baseball camp in Hawaii!

My family and I have very closely watched the situation unfold in Haiti after the earthquake and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this disaster, as well as with our fellow Canadians who have loved ones in Haiti at this time. The scenes we have witnessed from Port-au-Prince and areas surrounding have shaken and saddened us deeply. But they have also reminded us that as Canadians we can help our friends in Haiti by donating to the relief effort.

Donna and I have donated, and we are asking all residents of St. Catharines and Canada with the financial means to help to please do so. I have included the following links to organizations that can help;

Canadian Red Cross
Doctors Without Borders
Oxfam Canada
Oxfam Quebec
Centre for International studies and Cooperation (CECI)
CARE Canada
The Humanitarian Coalition
World Vision Canada
Plan Canada

You can also donate to the Haitian Shelter Relief Fund account #3874278 at any Meridian Credit Union in the Niagara Region.

If you can, please help our friends in their time of need.
Thanks,
Andrew