Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Road Trip

Stratford - January 11

My first road trip of the New Year – happy New Year everybody! There was a great turn out at the Perth-Middlesex NDP AGM. Congratulations to all the new executive members and delegates to convention. Thank you Kathy Vassilakos for the invite and thank you to the members for their wonderful potluck dinner – the offerings were delicious. What a great way to start the New Year!

Oshawa - January 13

I enjoyed mixing and mingling with delegates and party members at the Durham Labour Council Membership Meeting prior to my speech. The challenges facing working people are significant but solidarity between workers and New Democrats will get us through these difficult times. Thank you to all the members for coming out on that particularly cold night.

Windsor - January 18

The Windsor West AGM was a study in NDP activism because the riding association worked very hard passing resolutions, selecting delegates and listening to two leadership candidates including myself. After the meeting, an activist from the riding hosted a meet and greet with local Windsor NDPers at the very chic restaurant – the Gourmet Emporium. Thank you to Wayne Harris for organizing this and for letting us rest our heads at his fabulous house.

January 19

I had the honor of being invited to attend a round table discussion on children’s services hosted by Community Living Windsor. Tragically it is the same story told by thousands of parents throughout the province. The McGuinty Government has consistently failed families with special needs children and I fear that this crisis is only going to worsen. Thank you to the courageous individuals who shared their heart wrenching stories of love and pain. Your dedication and commitment to your children is truly inspiring. I will bring your voices and stories Queen’s Park.

1 comment:

Jenn Jilks said...

Hello Andrea, I heard your news clip on radio. Before you demand changes for retirement homes, in terms of sprinkler systems is wise. I think the cause of the fire in Orillia has to be established.

Retirement homes are governed by the landlord tenant act. Long-Term Care homes are governed by the LTC Act. The clients are incredibly different. What with the fires in private homes, I think this is a knee-jerk reaction that can have severe repercussions for these private residences.

My father, in his dementia, pulled the fire alarm once. It was very strange - his call for help. I am not sure that sprinkler systems are the way to go. Retrofitting will up the costs to tenants, with costs that will have to be absorbed by residents. Much damage is done by smoke far before fire kills anyone.