May 19, 2025 – King Charles III Coronation Medal

May 19, 2025 news-nouvelles

Dear Neighbour,

Last week, Mark Carney, former governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, was sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. As the United States continues to threaten our sovereignty and impose tariffs on our country, Prime Minister Carney brings his experience of helping governments navigate tough economic times. I look forward to working with him in our fight for Canada and supporting people in our community.

As we welcome a new era, I am also thankful for the work of our former Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. This month we mark 5 years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenging time when our community and businesses received essential support. Under his leadership, Canada built up supports for young families with the National Childcare Program, the Canada Child Benefit, and the National School Food Program. Young people and seniors in our community are benefiting from the National Dental Program. Making changes to our tax system allowed Canadians to keep more money in their pockets through the increased personal exemption (making the first $15,000 earned free of tax) and a cut to the middle-class tax rate. Finally, on issues close to my heart of arts and the environment, Prime Minister Trudeau increased funding to the arts, including funding to the CBC. In terms of environmental efforts, we saw significant progress with expanded protections for lands and waters across Canada and the reduction of emissions to their lowest levels in three decades.

This week, Prime Minister Carney was in Europe to strengthen our ties with these important allies. We are the only G7 country to have free trade deals with each of the other countries. We need to have Canada’s businesses diversify their export markets, and Prime Minister Carney’s meetings will encourage stronger relationships going forward. While there are challenges ahead, our country is resilient and united. Strengthening global partnerships will help Canada continue to grow and succeed. This is a difficult time but I’m optimistic about what the future holds for our country.

Consumer Carbon Price

On his first day, Prime Minister Carney removed Canada’s consumer carbon price. I believe this was the right decision because the policy had become too divisive. I have long defended the consumer carbon price, and continue to believe that it is a strong, efficient policy tool to move our country to reduce emissions, but it wasn’t the best policy for this time. Canadians want to see us take action on the environment in a different manner. In order to fight for clean air and reduced emissions, we will continue to make large industrial polluters pay for the pollution they create and help Canadians to reduce energy bills by building on past programs to make home retrofits and zero emission cars more affordable. Our work on a strong, reliable, affordable electrical grid is also critical to this action.

King Charles III Coronation Medal

One of my favourite parts about being the Member of Parliament for our community is to meet so many amazing people who work to make our city and our country a better place. I had the chance to recognize the work of several of these individuals through the award of the King Charles III Coronation Medal. Thank you to Shahada Jack, Toronto’s Youth Poet Laureate, for performing a poem for all of us.

Congratulations to all of the recipients of the King Charles III Coronation Medal:

Jenny Crober, celebrating 20 years as the Artistic Director of VOCA Chorus Toronto.

Laurette Jack, Boys and Girls Club Eastview Program Coordination, 25 years with BGC dedicated to tackling issues and barriers for youth at risk.

Dr. Chelsea Rochman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Toronto researching microplastics and their impact on our environment.

Alison Duke, co-founder OYA Media Group, Emerging Filmmakers Program helps support Black youth who are graduates of film, television and digital media programs to access training mentorship and film industry spaces. Alison is the creator of Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story film, available on Crave.

Chris Abraham, Artistic and General Director of Crow’s Theatre and dedicated advocate for supporting live performance.

Yafa Sakkejha, Standing Together Toronto, bringing together Muslim, Palestinian, Jewish and Israeli people together for respectful and collaborative dialogue on the issues facing our communities, and to advocate for peace in the middle east.

Maytal Kowalski, Executive Director of JSpace Canada, building spaces for respectful and collaborative dialogue between Jewish, Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian communities in Canada. Maytal is also the co-founder of Press Pause Collective, specializing in inclusive fundraising and marketing.

Anne Babcock, President and CEO of Woodgreen Community Services, one of Toronto’s largest social service agencies and the largest affordable housing provider. Anne has been dedicated to addressing poverty and homelessness

Cara Stern, co-creator and co-host of the Missing Middle podcast. Cara advocates for middle-class housing solutions, addressing the gap between single-family homes and high-rises.

Mike Yorke, President of Carpenters Union Local. Mike is a strong advocate for unionized workers.

Eric Schmidt, Canadian Army Reserve veteran. Erich has dedicated himself to honouring Canadian history. Through the Limber Gunners, he preserves World War 2 artillery, leads a mobile museum, and fires cannons at major events, showcasing Canada’s military history

Gloria McPherson, has led Out of the Cold program for 17 years, providing meals, shelter, clothing, and support to those in need.

Lawrence Warriner, co-founder of Don’t Mess with the Don in 2018. Lawrence has transformed the Don Valley through community clean ups, youth trail running, biking, kayaking, a free summer and much more. Lawrence’s efforts inspire thousands of volunteers, fostering stewardship and community.

Patrick James O’Neil, former President of Todmorden Branch 10. Under his leadership Todmorden Branch 10 started a day of recognition for Soldiers and First Responders who experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and specifically breaking the stigma around suicide.

James Durand-Smith, Canadian Armed Forces veteran and reservist. James has served with the 48th Highlanders, training across Canada and the U.S., and has worked as a Commissionaire with Commissionaires Great Lakes and has volunteered with GlobalMedic since 2016.

Lanrick Bennett Junior, advocate for sustainable urban mobility and is Toronto’s first Bicycle Mayor. Lanrick is an Urbanist-in-Residence at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities.

Theresa Tova, Head of ACTRA Toronto, Theresa has championed performers’ rights and shaped industry standards through her advocacy for fair working conditions in film, TV, radio, and digital media.

Stephen Lautens, dedicated Canadian leader, journalist, and philanthropist. Stephen has led major charitable efforts, raising millions for various groups such as veterans, refugees, and LGBTQ+ military members.

Rod Cohen, for 35 years, Rod has led Blake Boultbee Youth Outreach, offering free psychotherapy, life skills, and support to youth at-risk and families. Rod’s fundraising engages hundreds of donors, ensuring vital services that foster a safer community and brighter futures.

Gillian Irving, helped found the Riverdale Basket Brigade, a volunteer run charitable organization dedicated to feeding our community. Gillian has been a tireless supporter of our Boys & Girls Club and Food Bank since 2020, raising funds to provide over 350 holiday food hampers and gift cards to families annually.

Anke Simpson, another founding member of the Brigade is a tireless supporter of our BGC and Food Bank programs. Anke’s incredible team also provides weekly hot meals to our after school children and they came to the rescue when in 2023 we were in desperate need of camp subsidies, raising $10,000 to meet our goal.

Ruth Abbott, Ruth runs the East York Farmers Market which fosters community by connecting neighbors with fresh, local produce and handmade goods. Ruth champions local businesses, supports sustainable practices, and creates a welcoming space that strengthens the east end.

Constituency Office During the 2025 Federal Election

I have had some questions about how a constituency office operates after an election is called. The office at 1028 Queen St. East will remain open and staff will be available to assist community members with federal departments and services (a list of services is provided below). The constituency office cannot answer questions about policy issues, or about donations and volunteering on campaigns. Those types of questions must be directed to the political parties participating in the election.

Here is a list of the types of services constituency office staff can help with during an election:

Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
Old Age Security (OAS)
Passport Canada
Employment Insurance Benefits (EI)
Citizenship and Immigration
Canada Student Loans (CSL)
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)
Veterans Affairs
Consular Affairs
Commissioner of Oaths
Acquiring Canadian flags and pins.

Please note that the constituency office is non-partisan. For questions about the election, I encourage you to contact political parties directly.

Here are the official websites of Canada’s political parties with seats currently in Parliament:

Bloc Québécois: https://www.blocquebecois.org/
Conservative Party of Canada: https://www.conservative.ca/
Green Party of Canada: https://www.greenparty.ca/
Liberal Party of Canada: https://liberal.ca/
New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP): https://www.ndp.ca/

For a list of all registered political parties and parties eligible for registration, you can visit Elections Canada at Registered Political Parties and Parties Eligible for Registration – Elections Canada.

Preparing to file 2024 taxes

As the April 30th tax filing deadline approaches, it’s important to ensure you have all the necessary documents to file your taxes on time. Gather the slips you need, and make sure everything is organized ahead of time to help you avoid last-minute stress and ensure your taxes are filed accurately and on time. T4 tax slips for OAS and CPP are available through your My Service Canada Account (MSCA) or if you are having difficulties, you can contact Service Canada over the phone or go to your nearest Service Canada office in-person.

This year, the CRA has granted relief in respect of late-filing penalties for information returns, such as the T3 (trust income), T4 (remuneration paid), T4A (pension and other income) and T5 (investment income). As a result, certain information returns (tax slips) may not be available in My Account, Represent a client, or the Auto-fill my return service at the time of your request. If you suspect that information is not available, please try the service again at a later date. For more information, please go to CRA’s update on the filing of information returns.

Tax slips: Get a copy of your slips – Canada.ca

Get a T1 income tax package – Canada.ca

Create My Service Canada Account – Canada.ca

Due dates and payment dates – Personal income tax – Canada.ca

Yours,

Julie