This week is the Parliamentary Thanksgiving break week with Parliament not sitting again until Monday, October 17th. As I will be back in the riding for the next several days I would like to hear from you. If you would like to schedule a meeting or have time for a phone call to pass on your comments and concerns, please call me in my Penticton office at 250-770-4480 or toll free at 1-800-665-8711. Last week I had my first opportunity to speak in favor of a Bill in the House of Commons. Bill C-13 is the "Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs growing Act' and features the next phase of our Economic Action Plan. This was a very rewarding experience for me as many of the aspects contained within Bill C-13 are what I campaigned on during the past election. The Temporary Hiring Credit for Small Business, the permanent annual investment of $2 billion in the Gas Tax fund, the family caregiver tax, and the new children's arts tax credit are just a few examples contained within Bill C-13 that many citizens in Okanagan-Coquihalla were supportive of.

There are two other aspects of Bill C-13 that I am very excited about as they will benefit our region very positively. One proposal would create an extension for the mineral exploration tax credit for flow-through share investors by one year to support Canada's mining sector. This policy supported by the recently announcement form the Premier of British Columbia to provide more resources to help the opening of eight new mines can lead to significant job creation.   Communities such as Logan Lake and Princeton and surrounding areas can attest to the importance of mining activity within the region.   Further away, it should also be noted that one of Okanagan Falls largest private sector employers also caters to the international mining market. Mineral exploration leads to mines and mines lead to well paying jobs and mineral resource royalties that also support Government programs.

Another aspect of Bill C-13 that will be beneficial to our region is a proposal to extend the accelerated capital cost allowance for investments in manufacturing and processing machinery and equipment for a further two years. Investments in equipment and machinery is important because machinery and equipment are what create jobs. In June I attended the grand opening of the new cross laminated timber manufacturing plant also in Okanagan Falls. One exciting new piece of equipment is the Grand Master, it is the world's largest planer and it not only creates jobs, it is helping to create an innovative new product that can lead to more jobs even in spin off industries. Bill C-13 will not only support jobs and our local economy, it will also help to provide a balance assisting families and seniors to improve their quality of life.

 Many of you have also asked about my Private Member's Bill (C-311) calling for an end to Canada's Wine Prohibition in Canada. While we in the Okanagan are familiar with the economic opportunities for opening up our Canadian wine market to consumers, there are a surprising amount of other regions around Canada that also have an emerging wine industry. Many of them have also shared the frustration of being able to ship a bottle of wine to Texas but not being legally able to ship wine to another Canadian Province simply because of this 83 year old prohibition era law. Initial support for Bill C-311 has been thus far very encouraging from my colleagues and I will continue to work hard in an effort to see my Private Member's Bill passed.   

  

Dan Albas is the Member of Parliament for Okanagan-Coquihalla and can be reached at dan.albas@parl.gc.ca

Since becoming a Member of Parliament I have discovered that the topic of urban legends can also apply to proposed Bills and legislation before the House of Commons. It is understandable that in a democratically diverse country such as Canada, citizens will from time to time agree to disagree on the direction and policy of Government. However that disagreement should be based on the facts and not rumor or inaccurate information. Government also has an important role to play in communicating factually accurate information in a timely manner.  

One of the recent bills that I have received a fair amount of inquiry on is the newly introduced Bill C-11, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act, also known as the Copyright Modernization Act. It is well known that Canada's existing copyright laws are woefully out of date and have not kept pace with recent advancements in technology that include MP3 players, PVR's and other electronic devices including software and in many cases related hardware. Contrary to popular opinion expressed by some, the new act does not call for a citizen to be "arrested" or fined for copying a personal CD collection onto an MP3 player.  Rather the Act proposes to legitimize many day to day activities that are common among Canadian consumers.

Recording TV programs, copying music, backing up software or other data and even posting a mash-up on a social media site are all permitted activities under the Bill provided the intent is for non commercial purposes. What has changed? Canadian creators, performers and artists will now have more legal rights and protection as well as additional control of how copyrighted material can be made available on the internet. In support of these enhanced protections, there will now be more significant penalties for those individuals who choose to engage in accessing unauthorized copyrighted material that includes either the circumvention or "breaking" of digital locks including the importation, sale or manufacture of devices designed to break digital locks. In summary the intent of this legislation is to protect everyday consumers who have legitimately acquired copyrighted material and wish to copy or duplicate that material for personal, non commercial use. As this is a brief summary of Bill C-11 If you would like further or more detailed information please contact my office.

 Also this week I had an opportunity to introduce my Private Members Bill C-311 that, if passed, will create a personal exemption under the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act. This act contains a prohibition era law that makes it illegal for a citizen to transport a bottle of wine from one Province to another. For many of our Okanagan based wineries selling wine to customers in other Provinces is illegal because of this 83 year old law. If this exemption can be passed, it has the potential to open up the Canadian marketplace and provide consumers across Canada more choice and access to wines from our outstanding Canadian wineries, many located here in the Okanagan. While the Bill has only reached the stage of first reading, it has so far been well received and supported by many of my colleagues from all political stripes. If you would like to support Bill C-311 you can join the "End wine prohibition in Canada" Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/endwineprohibition) or visit my www.daninottawa.com website for further information including a link to the Facebook campaign. 

If you would like further information on any of these or any other Bills please contact my office at 250-770-4480 or toll free at 1-800-665-8711

  

Dan Albas is the Member of Parliament for Okanagan-Coquihalla and can be reached at dan.albas@parl.gc.ca