Welcome to The Hawn Report, which is my online newsletter to keep Edmonton Centre constituents up-to-date on important legislation as well as the events and activities I have been participated in.

Edmonton Centre Events

It has been another busy few weeks at home and in Ottawa.  Last weekend I had the pleasure to attend the Citadel's Theatre Production of A Christmas Carol with my wife Judy, which we enjoyed immensely.  As well, I attended the Royal Artillery Band Concert, the North Glenora Turkey Dinner, and went to the Commemoration of the 1932-33 Holodomor in Ukraine and laid wreath at City Hall.

New Legislation

Last week, the Minister of Justice announced legislation to require suppliers of Internet services to report online child pornography to authorities.

I am proud to be part of a government that has a proven record in protecting Canadians.  We have introduced legislation to fight gangs, organized crime, white collar crime and to curtail identity theft.

This legislation is the next step in our government’s efforts to fight the sexual exploitation of children.  It would require suppliers of internet services to report tips they receive from the public to a designated agency.  At the moment such actions are voluntary.  The bill would set graduated fines for failure to comply. A mandatory reporting regime across Canada will strengthen our ability to protect our children from sexual predators.  It will help police to rescue these young victims and to prosecute the criminals responsible.

I will be voting in favour of this legislation because we must always remain on the offensive when it comes to keeping our children and neighborhoods safe. 

Canada’s Economic Action Plan Report

Yesterday, Minister Flaherty today presented our government’s Fourth Report to Canadians, which highlights the progress of the implementation of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.Our Conservative Government responded to the global economic downturn by introducing Canada’s Economic Action Plan – a plan to stimulate the economy, create jobs for Canadians and protect those hit hardest by the economic downturn.

Just 10 months into our two-year plan, our government has already committed 97 per cent of our Economic Action Plan, adding up to 12,000 projects across the country.  8,000 have already begun. Projects from coast to coast to coast are up and running, jobs are being created and communities across the land are seeing the benefits.

Progress on other Economic Action Plan measures were also highlighted in yesterday’s report:

•·         tax cuts for Canadian families and businesses

•·         support for Canadian workers who have lost their jobs or may face layoffs through additional Employment Insurance benefits and training opportunities and the introduction of legislation extending EI benefits to the self-employed

•·         support for research and advanced education by funding maintenance, repair and construction projects at colleges and universities across Canada – in fact 100 per cent of the $2 billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program fund has been committed to projects at college and university campuses throughout the country

Our efforts are having a positive effect. We are seeing stabilization and the Canadian economy has begun to turn the corner.

•·         Canada’s unemployment rate is now 1.6 percentage points lower than in the U.S. – the largest gap in a generation

•·         The OECD recently projected that Canada will have the second strongest economic growth among G-7 countries in 2010, and the strongest G-7 growth in 2011.

•·         Consumer and business confidence has recovered sharply since the beginning of the year

•·         Private spending on consumer and investment goods has rebounded strongly in recent months

•·         Residential investment has rebounded since March

•·         Government capital investment has increased almost 25 per cent in the third quarter of this year – the largest increase in a decade

While recovery is fragile, we are not out of the woods yet.  It is critical that we continue to implement our plan.

Christmas Open House

On a final note, I am inviting everyone to my Annual Christmas Open House that will be held on Saturday, December 12^th at the Crestwood Community League, which is located at 14325 – 96 Avenue from 2pm – 5pm.  If you have any questions or need directions please call 1-780-442-1888.