IN TOUCH WITH MP EARL DREESHEN

November 17, 2016

Snow is falling and winter appears to be settling in. I would like to take a quick second to thank our local food producers for the time and care you put in to getting food from the fields to our tables. I know the agriculture community is grateful for the last few weeks of warm weather where many crops were salvaged and many avoided what was looking like a disastrous harvest.

Riding Update

This past week I was pleased to be back in the riding and take in two important annual events. Of course we marked one of the most important dates on the calendar on November 11, Remembrance Day. Our military and their families pay a tremendous sacrifice on behalf of Canada and we all owe them our deepest gratitude and respect. I was honoured to join thousands of Central Albertans and millions of Canadians across the country to commemorate the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve this country.

I was also encouraged to see the success of this year’s Agri-Trade Expo in Red Deer. This continues to be an incredible gathering and I congratulate everyone involved in another tremendous year. During Agri-Trade I was pleased to speak at the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association Dinner. It was a great opportunity to hear directly from our wheat growers on what current issues and opportunities they are facing and how we, as the Conservative Caucus can work with them to ensure we maximize the potential of the industry.

Ottawa Update – Bill C-26

Recently I spoke against Bill C-26 in the House of Commons. This is the Government Bill to increase CPP premiums on employers and employees now, with the promise that down the road there will be modest enhancements to benefits.

CPP was never intended to provide Canadians with their entire retirement income. It is there as a security measure, but there are a wide range of private investment options available as well. By artificially lowering the take home pay of Canadians, those options become more difficult to pursue.

Independent studies have shown that the proposed changes to CPP would have a negative effect on the Canadian economy until 2030 and a negative effect on jobs until at least 2035. This payroll tax increase cannot come at a worse time for Alberta’s job creators and for employees.

Mobile Office Update

Thank you to the Village of Delburne for hosting our most recent mobile office. The next session will be on Tuesday November 29th at Mug’s Coffee Shop in Didsbury from 1-3 pm. Please feel free to bring any questions, concerns, or comments to our attention.

Sincerely your Member of Parliament,

Earl Dreeshen