Dear Neighbour,
I hope you are keeping well as the weather warms up. I wanted to provide you with an update on our recent National Childcare announcement for Ontario and the work we are doing to support Ukraine. On Thursday we will be tabling our Federal Budget. I will provide you with an update about the budget and our newly released Emissions Reductions Plan in my next email newsletter.
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Completion of the National Federal Childcare Program
At long last, Ontario has joined our national childcare program. We now have all provinces and territories signed onto the national program.
Now that Ontario has joined this federal program, Ontario families with children in childcare will see:
- 25% reduction in fees as of April 1,
- 50% reduction in fees by the end of 2022,
- $10/day in 2025,
- 86,000 additional childcare spaces, and
- supports for Early Childhood Education
Our plan is well on its way to make life more affordable for families, create new jobs and allow more parents to return to the work force knowing that their children are receiving high quality early learning and childcare.
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Update on Canada’s Response to the Russian invasion in Ukraine
I have no words that are strong enough to describe the level of anger and disgust that I have felt upon seeing the scenes from Bucha and other regions in Ukraine. We are sending a team of RCMP officers to support the International Criminal Court in its investigation into war crimes in Ukraine. We are also calling for Russia to be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out about the Russian invasion of Ukraine with your messages of solidarity and offers to help. As of March 4th, the federal government matched the $30 Million donated by Canadians to the Red Cross to support Ukraine, and Canadians continue to make donations. To help with settlement in Canada, the Canadian Ukrainian Immigrant Aid Society has an active Facebook page on ways to help.
I have spoken with the Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees about the gaps in health services for Ukrainians arriving to country. We know that health services are being provided in some provinces like Quebec and BC, but not in Ontario. We have expanded federal settlement support for Ukrainians coming to Canada including language training and information and services to help settle families in their new homes. We have also simplified the entry process to Canada by eliminating many of the normal visa requirements and removing the need for biometrics for individuals who are not likely to pose a security risk. In addition, we have ensured that Ukrainians who are fleeing the war are eligible for free open work permits for up to 3 years. This also applies for Ukrainians currently in Canada and cannot go home.
We recently welcomed five Ukrainian MPs to Ottawa to talk about how we can continue and increase our support. There is a constant conversation between our two countries to ensure that we respond to their needs as we can. Here are some highlights of our actions:
- Sent $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to provide emergency health services, protection, shelter, water, and food,
- Sent lethal and non-lethal aid which include protective gear, surveillance and detection equipment, anti-tank weapons systems and rockets and other ammunition,
- Imposed sanctions on 160 more members of the Russian Federation Council in addition to the previous sanctions against current and former Russian officials, Putin’s inner circle, individuals from Russia’s energy sector and key figures who enabled Putin’s illegal invasion,
- Removed Russia from the SWIFT program in collaboration with our allies
- Sanctioned the Russian Central Bank so that Canadian financial institutions are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them,
- Was the first country to revoke Russia and Belarus’ “Most Favoured Nation” status, effectively subjecting all imports with a 35% tariff,
- Blocked new export permits and cancelled existing valid export permits,
- Banned of all crude oil and refined petroleum products from Russia, and
- Closed Canadian airspace and water ways to all Russian-owned air and watercrafts.
We will continue to keep up the pressure and explore all options to help end this invasion.
Julie
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