Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes has written a regular column about initiatives and issues impacting our community and, today, she says goodbye.
Goodbyes aren’t always easy. This is what I keep telling myself as I, like many in the political sphere, are reading the tea leaves in anticipation of the new Prime Minister calling a federal election any day now. While Parliament is scheduled to reconvene on March 24th, I suspect it likely won’t, and that Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast will be heading to the polls. So rather than a standard column, I wanted to indulge in reflections on my 16.5 years in parliament, talk about some of the highs, the lows, and to give my heartfelt thank you to the people of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing for placing their trust in me all these years.
I always wanted to help people. This was true in 2004 and 2006 when I first ran (and lost) and then in 2008 (and won), as it is today. My goal has always been to bring communities together, by working with people to present a vision of Canada where everyone is held up, and nobody is left behind. This was the vision I shared with my former party leader and friend Jack Layton, that I tried to carry throughout my time in Parliament.
Politics is a tough business. It can be exceptionally frustrating, but sometimes, incredibly rewarding. I am very proud of many of the issues I’ve brought forward to help Canadians. In recent years, some of those projects include the Canada Dental Care Plan, the pharmacare framework, anti-scab legislation, doubling the Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit and Search & Rescue Volunteer Tax Credits, and a National School Food Program that will help feed 400,000 Canadian kids. I worked with stakeholders at the Canadian Optometrists Association to develop a national eye health strategy that had broad support across party lines to work to prevent preventable diseases like macular degeneration. Northerners know how important FedNor has been for economic development throughout the region, but from its inception in 1987, it has always been under the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). But along with the work of friends like Tony Martin and Charlie Angus, it finally became a standalone agency in 2021.
Those large-scale projects are important, but there’s an adage that states all politics is local. And almost always, those are some of the projects I was proudest to help move the yardsticks on. Over the years, it became obvious that none of the large telecom companies had an interest in bringing affordable high-speed internet to parts of our riding, so I was happy to work with people like Georges Bilodeau on the Huron Shore & Manitoulin Island Community Owned Fibre Infrastructure (H&M Cofi) project with ROCKS Network and PomeGran Inc. which will give high-speed internet access to 18,600 homes across the riding. It was a pleasure to help secure funding for mobile ultrasound scanners for the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, to both ensure expectant mothers could receive medical care close to home while saving Health Canada hundreds of thousands a year in travel and health care costs - a win-win for everyone involved. Sometimes small projects make big impacts to people in our communities, like working to save post offices in places like Webbwood, Constance Lake First Nation, and Walford, or securing funding for Meldrum Bay marine fuel storage and sewer projects.
Those great moments, though, sometimes feel small when you hit serious setbacks. While I don’t regret the amount of effort I and some of my colleagues in the House of Commons put forward to try to save the 10 Northern Ontario ridings (at this point, I have no qualms about saying Conservative MPs didn’t lift a finger to protect Northern ridings), there will always be those moments where I have to ask if there’s more that could have been done to keep the same level of representation. Only time will tell how much of an impact reducing a riding in the North will have on our people, our towns and our communities, but I anticipate that the impact will be a net negative.
With all that being said, I cannot thank the people of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing enough for placing their trust in me for as long as they have. It has been the honour and privilege of a lifetime, and it is my hope that your next representatives in parliaments to come will serve you well and respond to the challenges that our nation is facing.