Dear Neighbor,
November 11, 2020 will mark 100 years of Remembrance in Toronto. In years past, we've gathered in memorial parks, community halls, workplaces, schools and homes to stand together in honour of the many who have fallen in the service of our country and to acknowledge the courage of those who still serve. We are not able to attend large in-person gatherings this year but there will still be many ways to participate in local and national Remembrance Day services and commemorative events, listed further below. I visited the East York Cenotaph over the weekend, and it was nice to see families taking time to pay their respects and talk with their children about thanking the women and men who have served our country.
I would like to highlight for our veterans the Veterans Affairs Canada Assistance Service, which is a free and confidential service available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to connect veterans and their families or caregivers with a mental health professional. We know there is more work to be done. We will continue to support and honour our veterans for their immense sacrifices.
Please see below for updates on:
Virtual Remembrance Day Events
The National Remembrance Day Ceremony
The National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa will also be held virtually this year to comply with public health guidelines. The Ceremony is expected to start approximately 10:45 am. Canadians are invited to view the livestream that will be available on The Royal Canadian Legion Facebook page.
City of Toronto Remembrance Week 2020
While the City of Toronto has cancelled all in-person Remembrance Day events, you are able to participate online by viewing the various virtual ceremonies that are being livestreamed through the city's website until November 11th.
MCC Toronto Day of Remembrance
MCC will be holding a special live-streamed Remembrance Day Tribute on MCC Toronto's YouTube Channel on Wednesday, November 11 at 10:45 AM.
2020 Canadian Jewish Remembrance Day service
The Jewish War Veterans of Canada, B'nai Brith, and other Jewish organizations have come together to offer an online event on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2020. The event will appear on that page on Wednesday at 10:50am EST.
Modernization of the Broadcasting Act
Canada's Broadcasting Act has not been updated since 1991, before streaming services became important sources of our entertainment content. Last week, we proposed legislation to reform the Broadcasting Act, which will have online streaming platforms like Netflix and Spotify pay their fair share to support the production of Canadian content. This will level the playing field between our regular broadcasters and online broadcasters. The reforms will also provide the CRTC with the regulatory tools it needs to keep up with these technological changes.
As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Heritage, Steven Guilbeault (pictured above), I had the chance to work on these much-needed changes. They reflect the feedback I've consistently heard over the years in my consultations and conversations with creators and artists in our community and across our country.
You can read more about the modernization of the Broadcasting Act here.
Commercial rent subsidy and extended wage benefit legislation
Our local businesses continue to need our support through this pandemic. Our government's legislation to create a new rent-subsidy program and extend the wage subsidy was passed through the House of Commons last week. It is now being considered by the Senate. The passage of the Bill will bring into force the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy into June 2021.
The proposed rent subsidy program will provide money directly to tenants, instead of requiring landlords to apply for the support. It will also include a top-up subsidy of up to 90% of rent for businesses that are forced to close or significantly limit their activities in order to follow mandatory public-health orders.
The wage subsidy will remain at its current coverage rate of up to 65% until December 19th, 2020.
Support for the Airline Industry
The airline sector has been hard hit by the pandemic. I have talked with many people who work in the industry about the importance of maintaining a robust Canadian air sector. I have also talked with many members of our community who have suffered financial pressures when their airline trips were cancelled and they were not offered refunds. This past weekend, the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, announced that any financial support for the airline industry "will be contingent on carriers providing refunds to passengers whose flights were cancelled".
This is something that I have been advocating for since March and something I heard repeatedly from constituents whose travel plans had been cancelled. I had written to Minister Garneau twice to provide our community's feedback on these issues and asking that support for our airline industry be balanced with stronger passenger rights. I am happy to see that this feedback was incorporated in his response.
You can read Minister Garneau's full statement here.
Facebook Live: New Date for this Week, Thursday, November 12
I learned a lot with my discussion with MP Jaime Battiste. I heard about why the dispute over the lobster fishing in Nova Scotia was happening now (around 8:00) and what the path forward is (around 17:00).
We will have a special East End Facebook Live on Thursday, November 12, starting at 8pm with our Beaches-East York neighbour, MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. We'll be speaking about the work being done across our two communities and the priorities of our constituents. Join us and ask your questions on Thursday, and make sure to like my Facebook page to get a notification whenever I go live.
Please direct any questions to here in advance of the Facebook Live events. If we are not able to get to your question during the discussion, I'll provide a response directly to your email.
Stay safe and please reach out by email or phone (416.405.8914, leave a message) for any questions, suggestions or feedback.
Yours,
Julie
| Mon: | 9:30am - 4:30pm |
| Tue: | 9:30am - 4:30pm |
| Wed: | 9:30am - 4:30pm |
| Thu: | 9:30am - 4:30pm |
| Fri: | 9:30am - 4:30pm |
| Sat: | Closed |
| Sun: | Closed |
