The federal riding represented in Ottawa by John Weston has received a proportionally larger share of the federal economic stimulus funding pie than most others in British Columbia, the Conservative member of Parliament pointed out in an interview last week.
But there won't be any grace periods beyond the deadline for completing projects funded through the Tory government's Economic Action Plan of March 31, 2011 for local officials who may be struggling to meet that deadline, the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP said on Thursday, July 29.
He said the stimulus funding handed out beginning in 2009 was meant to help kick-start the economy during the global recession, and it has succeeded to a large degree in doing that.
He acknowledged that the Powell River area has at least five projects that received funding through the various federal economic stimulus programs and that local governments there are struggling to meet the March 31 deadline. Weston said he's confident they'll succeed.
"Certainly, that which was agreed to in the commitment between the federal government and the municipalities has to be done, and there will be no extension," he said. "There are, I think, about 60,000 projects across the country, and I think people who are familiar with the Economic Action Plan recognize that [the deadlines] are at least part of the reason for its success.
"The local leaders have assured me that these projects will be completed on time and that they'll be able to access not only the federal money, but also, in some cases, the matching money - in some cases two or three times the amount - from the provincial government."
As he rode a ferry to the Sunshine Coast on a sunny July day, Weston said while he enjoys working in Ottawa, the time he spends meeting with constituents in the riding that he called "the best place in the world" is his favourite part of the job he was first elected to 20 months ago.
"It's not just about having philosophical ideals that you articulate in the House, but it's about understanding the essence of each community, and that means spending time in each community - building relationships, understanding needs, organizing time and great team building with elected officials and others," he said.
Weston said some $210 million in federal funding has flowed to the riding so far during his term. While he didn't have the rankings handy, he said reliable sources have told him that figure is among the highest of B.C.'s 36 ridings.
Weston likes to think that's not a quirk of fate.
"On a purely monetary basis, I'm told overall that we're at or near the top by people who are involved in looking at all the ridings, and that reflects what we've done to promote a new approach to team building," Weston said. "People in my office work directly with the councils and mayors, and there's a high level of engagement there. We've then gone out and organized the priorities and pursued them."
Weston said he's also proud of the fact that his private members' bill has received unanimous support through three readings of the House.
Bill C-475 would give law enforcement the authority to prosecute those who secure the ingredients of ecstasy and crystal meth for the purpose of manufacturing the drugs. It's now before the Senate, and Weston said he's confident it will become law not long after the House reconvenes Sept. 23.
"It's the first private members' bill to receive unanimous support," he said.
Asked about the recent flap over the government's plans to scrap the mandatory long-form census, Weston said controversy on the issue has been driven by opposition politicians and the media.
Critics have accused the Conservatives of manufacturing anxiety over the privacy aspects of the mandatory long form, which statisticians and some local government officials say has supplied reliable data on which to base decisions about future initiatives. By scrapping the long form, they say, the Tories are trying to reduce the reliability of that data in an attempt to undermine social programs that they tend to oppose.
Weston said the government is scrapping the census to safeguard Canadians' privacy and make government more efficient.
"We've received a few emails about it, [but] in the hundreds of discussions with people since this issue arose, not one has brought it up," Weston said. "It's a non-partisan issue, and it's being done to improve the governance of our country."
