School is back, tree leaves are starting to change, and the fall session of Parliament in Ottawa is just around the corner.
For Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu, there’s no shortage of items on her to-do pile when the legislature resumes Sept. 19.
Top of the list, she said, is a private member’s bill the Conservative politician introduced to set up a palliative care framework and expand access to end-of-life care across Canada.
Bill C-277, the Framework on Palliative Care in Canada Act, is set for first reading before the end of the month.
“In terms of Sarnia-Lambton there are a number of things that we want to have government to have support for, that I continue to follow up on,” Gladu said.
Among them: getting funding for an oversized load corridor to give Sarnia-Lambton fabricating shops easier access to the Great Lakes and customers outside Chemical Valley – where demand has declined.
A business study investigating the need is wrapping up in the fall, Gladu said.
“At which point we can go back to the government and say, ‘Here’s all the input that you need to go fund this; give us the money.’”
The project is expected to cost $12 million, with funds being sought federally and provincially. It could also create 3,000 jobs, Gladu said,
A funding application has also been put in for BioAmber’s proposed 200,000-metric-tonne chemical plant, said Gladu.
A site hasn’t been selected, but Sarnia – home to the company’s first, 30,000-metric-tonne plant – is in the running, company officials have said.
“We would like to see that built here in Sarnia, and I think advocating with the federal government to do that would be helpful,” Gladu said.
She wasn’t able to provide details about the funding application, noting she hadn’t seen the latest version.
Other focuses include getting tax breaks for small businesses as promised by the government, she said – including reducing some bureaucracy – pushing for continued upgrades to rural internet access, and reporting on electoral reform results after getting input from constituents via mail-outs and town halls.
Gladu said she’s keeping tabs on national housing strategy funding to potentially build a hybrid nursing home, palliative care and seniors’ housing complex in Sarnia.
She’s also expecting announcements for lab upgrades at Lambton College, and is keeping on top of border crossing changes coming with proposed changes to the Customs Act.
“We need to be involved … to make sure that we have free passage across the border, that it’s not more difficult for people, but that we’re being secure,” she said.