KENORA – Election 2019 – Bob Nault, Member of Parliament (Kenora), announced his intention to run in the 2019 federal election for the Liberal Party of Canada. Nault was elected in 2015 to represent the Kenora Riding, defeating then Conservative Minister, Greg Rickford, and former Ontario NDP Leader, Howard Hampton.
“As a Northerner first, and as the federal representative for the Kenora Riding for 20 years, I am honoured and pleased to announce that I am running to be the Liberal candidate in the 2019 election.
“Living in the North is truly a privilege and it comes with its own very unique set of challenges, including safe and reliable transportation, access to healthcare, reliable broadband connectivity, and protecting our environment. To address these very real challenges head-on, the voice of Northerners must be heard; we must continue to work together to ensure the North reaches its full potential.
“The reason I am running again is simple. Under Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, we saw our region fall further and further behind. Investments for essential programs, like Fednor were severely reduced or cut altogether. We saw infrastructure, like our local highways, airports, and community buildings, fall into disrepair, putting the North at a serious disadvantage if we want to attract new industry and create more jobs for Northerners.
“Now, we have federal Conservative leader, Andrew Scheer, who is a carbon copy of Stephen Harper and sounds just like Doug Ford. Northerners cannot afford another federal Conservative government, nor can Ontarians, nor the country. That’s why I am running.
“In Ontario, we also have a Conservative government under Doug Ford, who has a blatant disrespect for the environment, our children’s education, and healthcare, especially in the North. Ontario’s provincial budget made cuts will reduce education funding and increase class sizes. The Ford/Scheer Conservatives made major reductions in public health units and paramedic services, our forest industry and slashed provincial library funding in half while failing to put forth any serious plan to combat climate change.
“Quite unlike the federal and provincial Conservative governments, Liberals believe our children deserve to inherit a clean environment, a robust healthcare system, and revitalized communities where they can raise their own families.
“For example, in the last three and half years, under the federal Liberals, the Kenora Riding has seen historic investments of over $2 billion dollars. We’re connecting 17 First Nation communities to the electrical grid which will bring safe and reliable power to these communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We have made several of our remote airports safer. We’ve also invested in senior-led initiatives throughout the riding and broken-down barriers for Northerners with disabilities by making workplaces and public spaces more accessible. We’re continuing to help provide access to clean drinking water in First Nation communities. Essentially, we are opening up the North, and as we do, everyone in the North benefits.
“Since taking office, more than one million new jobs have been created, pushing the unemployment rate to its lowest level since 1976. We’ve made historic investments in our Indigenous communities including significantly reducing the number of boil water advisories. Additionally, our government has been working to make it easier to do business here in Canada by lowering the small business tax rate to 9% – one of the lowest rates in the world.
“We also introduced the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) to help families with the high costs of raising children, meaning that over 300,000 children no longer live below the poverty line.
“From 2016 to 2018, families in the Kenora riding raising children have received $147,533,000 from the Canada Child Benefits – that’s more than $70 million per year in our riding. To put this more into perspective, we expect that once we receive the total payment information for this benefit year, over $200 million will have been paid directly to families in the Kenora riding.
“These investments speak loud and clear: my priority is the North, the people of the North, and continuing to make the North even stronger. Conservative cuts and underfunding by Harper, Scheer, and Ford have not and will not help the North get ahead. We do not need tailgating and buck-a-beer, we need to continue, improving rural healthcare, making transportation safer and more reliable, and fighting the impacts that climate change is having on our environment and way of life.
“I have had the honour to represent Northerners in Ottawa for 20 years. It has been the highlight of my career and the next four years will be no exception. I will continue to fight for our riding so that we have a resilient, prosperous region for generations to come.”
