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Member of Parliament Robert Nault visited Dryden Rotary to give us an update on the work he is doing on behalf of the Kenora Riding in Ottawa.
Before he began outlining the work, however, he took a moment to first thank Rotary for all the work it does throughout the world. As president of Parlamericas, he said he often runs into Rotary in work being done in the developed world.
Kenora is the largest riding in Ontario. Bob said he reminds his colleagues in Ottawa that 30 per cent of Canadians live in rural areas. This presents real problems for the delivery of health care, especially for the First Nation’s people living in the far North without road accessBob also said that there is a focus on the development of our region. There is a major effort to have all First Nations attached to the Internet grid.
After that, the next project is to build all-weather roads to the remote First Nations. Bob says he expects this will result in a lot of changes as First Nation people will travel to the Dryden to visit and shop in our community. We need he said, “to plan for those changes.”
Nault also spoke about the shortage of labour in our region. He described a Federal pilot project to help us determine shortages and where to get people to fill those vacancies in rural communities.
Other projects Nault is addressing are creating affordable housing for both the young and the elderly and the twinning of highway 17.
Robert concluded his address by reminding us that Canada now has a Minister for Rural Development and about the success of the Canada Child Benefit program which has helped 20% of Canadians get out of poverty the last three years