0 to 185 in 60 seconds.....

Originally published on the DaninOttawa.com website on June 7th, 2011.

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 There are currently 308 seats within the House of Commons so understandably it is not every day that you get to make a members statement into the house.  As a result I was quite excited to learn that today would be my first opportunity for my first ever members’ statement. The rules with respect to content are fairly open provided your comments can fall within the 60 seconds of time that you are allocated from the Speaker. 

It was with great interest that I put pen to paper (or finger to iPad as was the case) to draft up some of the concerns that I have heard in the riding of Okanagan-Coquihalla to incorporate into my members statement. The first draft to my surprise would have taken well over 5 minutes of house time to recite. Clearly I should have consulted with one of our local newspaper editors for help on this because well over an hour later I had managed to pare down my comments into the allocated 60 seconds of house time.

It was important to me that I publicly thank the people of Okanagan-Coquihalla for sending me to Ottawa as their elected representative. But this morning I read a very moving youth submission in the Penticton Herald from Melissa Stather, a future young leader in the Summerland community. Ms. Stather reminded me of the importance that we as Members of Parliament be mindful of our many young students who will soon be graduating. It is very important in this 41st Parliament that we not lose sight of the importance of jobs and a strong economy for our next generation of leaders. It was also important to me to raise the importance of seniors and the need to be able to retire in dignity. Many members of my community have raised the issue of retirement and I was honoured to share that within the house today. My final point was the importance that as Parliamentarians we work together in this new session to help build a bright future for all Canadians.  

My statement can be viewed here (all 185 words of it)......

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