OTTAWA – David Anderson, Member of Parliament for Cypress Hills–Grasslands and Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, tomorrow will conclude a series of cross-Canada roundtable discussions with business and community leaders. The roundtables began on January 15 in Nackawic, N.B., and the final meeting is tomorrow in Castlegar, B.C.
"In advance of the upcoming budget, Minister Raitt asked me and several of our Parliamentary colleagues to meet with Canadians living in communities that depend on natural resources," said Mr. Anderson. "We listened to how the current economic downturn is directly affecting their communities, their jobs, their families."
The Natural Resources roundtable discussions have been held in more than twenty communities in seven provinces. "Whether we were talking with people in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Nova Scotia, a number of common themes emerged which I will be advising Minister Raitt on," said Mr. Anderson.
Participants included representatives from chambers of commerce, town councils and legislative assemblies; plant managers and small business owners. Some of the common themes from the discussions are support for training programs and infrastructure projects and more accessible Employment Insurance.
FOR BROADCAST USE:
David Anderson, Parliamentary Secretary to Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, tomorrow concludes a series of over 20 roundtable discussions with business and community leaders in resource-based communities across Canada. Some of the common themes that emerged are support for training programs and infrastructure projects and more accessible Employment Insurance.
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