Open Letter to Cloverdale - Langley City Residents
Dear friends & neighbours,
It has been truly an honour to serve you, and represent Cloverdale- Langley City, over the past four years.
Each weekend I’ve gone door knocking to hear what worries you. Your responses have been about jobs, the environment, healthcare, and the cost of living. I have heard these concerns and worked hard to address them.
Over the past 4 years, I am proud to say :
Canadians have created over 1 million jobs and Canada has the lowest unemployment rate since the 1970s.
The Child Benefit is no longer taxable income AND has been increased 2 times. This has brought in an additional $7.5 million monthly to families in our riding.
We’ve implemented an effective plan to address climate change and transition away from fossil fuels.
We’ve invested over $10 million into Cloverdale-Langley City for public transit, infrastructure, and recreational facilities.
These are just some of the things I am immensely proud of. Read below and see some of the other major accomplishments our government has made since 2015!
I look forward to your continued support and to what we can all achieve as a team in 2019.
Sincerely,
John Aldag
Member of Parliament | Cloverdale-Langley City
Serving the People of Cloverdale - Langley City
16192 Telephone inquiries handled
5200 Constituency office visitors welcomed
1328 Constituent services cases closed
674 Meetings with Cloverdale - Langley City residents
370 Community events attended
Laying the Groundwork for National Pharmacare
Canadians pay too much for prescription drugs and we’re going to change that. To make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible to all Canadians, Budget 2019 proposes to:
Create the Canadian Drug Agency, a new national agency that will work to lower prescription drug prices for all Canadians.
Lower the cost and create equal prices for prescription drugs across all provinces and territories by creating a new national formulary of prescribed drugs.
Negotiate prices with drug manufacturers to help Canadians struggling with rare diseases get the life-saving medication they need at an affordable price.
Making It Easier to Buy Your First Home
We are introducing the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive that will help make home-ownership more affordable for middle-class Canadians by:
Allowing eligible first-time buyers to apply to finance a portion of their home purchase.
Offering a 10% shared equity mortgage for a newly constructed home or a 5% shared equity mortgage for an existing home through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Lowering monthly mortgage payments since no ongoing payments would be required with the Incentive.
Creating More Affordable Renting Options for Families
To provide more affordable rental options for middle class families, Budget 2019 proposes to:
• Build 42,000 new rental housing units across Canada.
• Help municipalities grow housing supply and unlock new solutions for Canadians searching for an affordable place to call home by providing $300 million to launch the new Housing Supply Challenge.
Standing Up For the Middle Class and Those Working Hard to Join It
Since 2015 we have implemented measures to help make life more affordable for middle class Canadians.
Under our government:
We cut taxes for the middle class and raised it on the wealthiest 1%. The average person making $48,000 per year is now saving $720 in tax annually.
Implemented the tax-free Canada Child Care Benefit that gives families in Cloverdale-Langley City up to $6,639 per child. That’s an investment of over $7.5 million into our families every month. We’ve indexed the CCB twice to make sure it keeps up with inflation and the cost of living.
Lowered the small business tax from 11% to 9%.
Introduced new EI Parental Sharing Benefit to provide 5 extra weeks of benefits when parental leave is shared.
Supported 40,000 new affordable child-care spaces across Canada.
Canadians have created over one million new jobs since we formed government in 2015, and employment rates are at a historic low.
We’re making vital services like mental health treatment more accessible and affordable for all Canadians. We firmly believe in a Canada that is inclusive of everyone.
Celebrating Diversity as Our Strength
Canada is strong not in spite of its differences, but because of them. I am so proud of Canada’s longstanding tradition of inclusion and diversity. As the first country in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism in 1971, diversity is part of our vibrant national fabric.
Over the past four years, we have continued to make strides in building an even more inclusive Canada.
Last year, I introduced my Private Member’s Bill C-374, which amends the Historic Sites and Monuments Act to add three new Indigenous representatives on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (one each for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit).
Unfortunately, the Conservative Senate Caucus refused to debate this bill and as a result, Bill C-374 died on the Senate floor. I am hopeful that a similar bill can be introduced in the future.
In 2018, we mailed out over 450 certificates congratulating constituents on receiving their Canadian citizenship.
I also had the opportunity to second Sukh Dhaliwal’s Bill to proclaim April as Sikh Heritage Month.
Everyday, I am reminded of how lucky we are to live in a welcoming country of opportunity where, if you work hard, you can make a better life for yourself and your family, no matter your background.
It is inspiring to hear success stories from our community, like Reddy who came to Canada and opened Buns Master in 1987.
These stories and experiences drive my work as your Member of Parliament and motivate me to build an even better Canada!
Introducing the New Canada Training Benefit
Canadians are among the most skilled and highly educated workers in the world, but in a changing world of work, many will need new skills to keep their current jobs or find new work in the future.
This is a real challenge for working Canadians who may not be able to take time off to get the training they need to succeed.
To help hard-working Canadians find and keep good jobs, Budget 2019 introduces the new Canada Training Benefit. Working Canadians will get:
Four weeks of training every 4 years.
Up to $1,000 to help pay for the training.
Employment Insurance support to help cover lost income.
Security knowing you’ll have a job to come back to when your training is done.
Helping Students Get a Head Start
Students today still face barriers in accessing financial assistance and repaying their student loans. To better support the needs of students, Budget 2019 proposes to:
Lower interest rates on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans, and ensure students don’t accumulate interest for the first 6 months after graduating.
Allow students who have defaulted on their loan to apply for supports such as the Repayment Assistance Plan and start to make affordable payments on their outstanding debt.
Allow students to take a medical or parental leave that is interest-free and payment-free in six-month stackable periods for a maximum of 18 months.
Increase the Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment for Students with Permanent Disabilities from $8,000 to $20,000 a year and expand the eligibility so that more students with disabilities can afford the necessary equipment and services they need for their studies.
Ensure that programs are working for Indigenous students by investing in First Nations, Inuit and Metis-led strategies to promote enrollment in post-secondary education.
Providing Seniors the Security They Deserve
All Canadians deserve a secure and dignified retirement. We are taking steps to make sure seniors keep more money in their pockets, are able to stay active and involved in their communities, and receive all the benefits they are entitled to.
To better support our seniors, we:
Ensured more low-income seniors keep more their hard-earned money by enhancing the Guaranteed Income Supplement earnings exemption.
Encouraged seniors in Cloverdale-Langley City to participate in our community by increasing funding for the New Horizons for Seniors Program, which supports local projects like new flooring at the Legion so Seniors can meet and socialize; or a music therapy program for those suffering from dementia.
Protected Canadians’ pensions by requiring more transparency and fairness in insolvency processes, better corporate governance and empowering the courts to review executive compensation in insolvencies.
Proactively enrolled Canada Pension Plan contributors who are 70 or older but have not applied yet to receive their retirement benefits. This will help 40,000 seniors across the country.
Lowered the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement to 65, and increased the CPP by 50%.
Increased OAS and GIS on July 1, 2019. The average senior now has $2,000 more in their pocket than in 2014.
Secured the age to collect CPP at 65 and are committed to keeping it there.
Invested in the first ever National Dementia Strategy to help those suffering from dementia and their caregivers.