For Immediate Release
Melissa Marshall
Campaign Chair
St. Catharines Federal Liberal Association
905-682-3835 (Andrew Gill)
melissa.e.marshall@gmail.com
September 22, 2009
Andrew Gill was acclaimed as the St. Catharines Federal Liberal Candidate
The St. Catharines Federal Liberal Association is pleased to announce that Andrew Gill has accepted the nomination to represent St. Catharines in the next Federal election.
With standing room only at the Days Inn in St. Catharines, Andrew Gill spoke to supporters outlining his vision and commitment to St. Catharines and its residents.
Please find attached a copy of Andrew’s speech.
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I would like to thank everyone who has supported me to this point. But most of all I would like to thank my wonderful wife Donna, my children Matthew, Gracie and Sydney for the support and encouragement.
For a long time I have felt the desire to serve my community. It was a driving force behind my desire to become a firefighter, to be a community organizer and to run for city council.
My three years on City Council have been a rewarding experience. However, as a front line municipal representative and member of the community I have seen first hand the effects of the current economic downturn on our St. Catharines families.
I recognize the urgent need to create sustainable jobs, restore the economy, protect our most vulnerable citizens and defend our health care system.
St. Catharines deserves better.
The number one issue facing Canadians today is the recovery of half a million full time jobs and the creation of long term sustainable jobs as we move forward.
As the recent economic crisis worsened last spring the Government was forced to announce a stimulus package. Municipalities asked that the money be directed through the existing gas tax model. Had that request been accepted the money would have flowed directly to Municipalities who could apply the money to their most pressing needs and create immediate jobs.
Instead of injecting the money into the economy, the current Government has decided that a series of announcements over the last seven months would be better than creating jobs immediately. All of the announced projects in St. Catharines remain on the drawing board, and as of today the City of St. Catharines has not received any stimulus money. Our residents should have been working this past March, but yet we are about to miss an entire construction season. Our local unemployment rate is currently 5th highest rate in the country.
I have seen too many plant closures. Our St. Catharines food bank is going through one ton of food a day, and too many of our young people our having to leave the city for work. Families including my own have experienced the pain of job loss with the need to re-locate. Canada needs a Government that cares more about getting people back to work, than photo opportunities.
We will commit ourselves both to preserving and creating jobs in St. Catharines. We are the party that will create sustainable jobs, and provide access to the new economy by rewarding innovation and taking advantage of existing centres of excellence, such as Brock University and Niagara College.
Seniors have been under attack for the past few years on a number of fronts. But over the next decade we will face perhaps the greatest social challenge, the looming cost of our aging workforce.
Here are a couple of sobering numbers, the value of assets held in pension plans fell by more than 80 billion dollars in one economic quarter, and, over the past 15 years the number of working Canadians with a pension plan fell from 49% to 37%.
Almost 2/3 of Canadians right now do not have a Pension Plan. Those that do risk losing everything when a company goes out of business or when the economy goes bad. The Liberal Government put the Canada Pension plan on a sound footing while the economy was strong. Now we need to meet the challenge in tougher times.
We have to do better!
Our health care system may not be perfect, but it is a respected and relied upon institution. In spite of that fact the Harper Government has remained silent as a health care debate rages south of the border. A health care debate that maligns the Canadian system, misrepresents it, and may even put pressure on it from outside our own borders. It is unfortunate that the only Conservative Prime Minister to defend our health care system is Brian Mulroney.
On a personal level with my travels to the United States, I have been asked repeatedly if our health care system is as good as we say it is. Each time I am asked, I respond with a definite yes! I then tell the story of how my daughter was diagnosed with a series illness here in St. Catharines and then transferred to Sick Kids Hospital where she received some of the best health care in the world.
As Liberals we are proud that Canada has been a leader in the production of medical isotopes. The current Government has presided over the collapse of this vital industry. Until recently the world looked to Canada to supply isotopes for medical imaging and Cancer treatment.
The current Government has stumbled and has now simply written this important industry off. I have talked to many residents of St. Catharines who live with the daily stress of a series illness.
It is unfortunate that these residents had the added burden of not knowing if the isotope shortage would delay their much needed treatment.
We must ensure that Canada remains a leader, not only in isotope production, but in the health of its citizens. That is why as a member of City Council, I worked hard with my colleagues to help facilitate and expedite the construction of the new hospital now under way in St. Catharines.
We need a government that is financially responsible, acknowledging the countries gains and loses, and relaying this information accurately and honestly to its citizens. In the midst of Canada’s most serious financial crisis since the great depression, the Harper Government in less than one year, went from predicting a surplus, to declaring a $56 billion dollar deficit, the largest in the countries history. The Liberal Party will once again provide a fiscally responsible Government. In 1993, we came to power facing a Conservative budget deficit of $43 billion dollars. We faced the crisis head on, balancing Canada’s books, and providing financial stability for the Country.
Once again, the country faces dark days and tough choices under the current government. Once again, this country will look to the Liberal Party to provide Canadians with the tools to compete in the new global economy.
To quote our leader Michael, to reach our potential, our Government must catch up to what Canada has already become: one of the most international societies on earth.
After formally announcing my candidacy on, Monday evening after the finishing at the council meeting I turned on the football game. I saw two sets of commercials that solidified my commitment to the party, and to running for the nomination. In one set, a party engaged in a malicious personal attack. In the other, our leader Michael spoke of his vision for Canada and the betterment of our county.
I want you all to think of a date…. 2017. It may not seem significant at first, but it marks Canada’s 150th birthday. My eldest child, Matthew will be 17 years old. He will be ready to attend university, and face enumerable choices. What kind of future will that be? What kind of choices will he have? What kind of Canada will he face?
We will give the next generation the education, the skills, and the tools to compete and succeed on the world stage.
With your help and your support, we will take this riding back. Because together we can do better.
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