With the amount of money the federal government plans to set aside for First Nations water infrastructure, Batchewana First Nations Chief Dean Sayers is hoping that their water issues will soon be put to rest.
This week’s federal budget sets aside about 172-million dollars in new funding as the Trudeau government works towards fulfilling a promise to end all water advisories in First Nations by 2021—that’s on top of the 1.8-billion dollar initial commitment in the 2016 budget.
The Goulais Mission community of Batchewana First Nation has not been able to drink tap water for over a decade due to levels of uranium and the lake side community of Batchewana Village is also under a drinking water advisory.
Chief Sayers says it will take a multi-million dollar investment to build community water systems with Lake Superior intakes…

There are about 200 people out of the 15-hundred living in Batchewana First Nation that are under drinking water advisories.

Sault MP Terry Sheehan was promoting aspects that will benefit the north in reacting to yesterday’s federal budget including a commitment to increase FedNor’s budget by an additional 28-million dollars over a five year period.
That is on top of last year’s increase of 25-million dollars.
There is also a 100-million dollar commitment for improving rural broadband…

The budget also commits 231 million dollars to combat the national opiod crisis through a number of measures including 150-million in immediate emergency funding to the provinces and territories.

Sault MP Sheehan issued the following news release…
MP Sheehan pleased with Budget 2018’s focus on taking next steps towards building an equal, competitive, sustainable, and fair Canada.
Ottawa, February 28, 2018- Budget 2018 continues to build on historic investments included in previous federal budgets and will retain an on-going emphasis on jobs, economic growth, health care, infrastructure, skills development, and innovation.
The new Budget proposes to:
” Put more money in the pockets of those who need it the most, by improving access to the Canada Child Benefit and introducing the Canada Workers Benefit, a stronger and more accessible benefit that will replace the Working Income Tax Benefit.
” Support the next generation of researchers, by providing historic funding to increase opportunities for young researchers and provide them the equipment they need, while strengthening support for entrepreneurs to innovate, scale up, and reach global markets.
” Make significant progress towards equality of opportunity, by taking leadership to address the gender wage gap, supporting equal parenting, tackling gender-based violence and sexual harassment, and introducing a new entrepreneurship strategy for women.
“Having been a member of the Special Committee on Pay Equity, hearing from witnesses, drafting our report entitled “It’s Time to Act”, and also as a father of a young adult daughter, I can tell you this issue being tackled is really quite significant for all Canadians.” Sheehan said.
Specifically Sheehan is pleased with an additional $28 Million increase in funding over
5 years, to FedNor, the Northern Ontario Development Program, which invests in projects that support community economic development, business growth and competitiveness, and innovation. This is in addition to the $25 million increase in Budget 2017.

“As the MP for the Riding of Sault Ste. Marie and Chair of the Northern Ontario Liberal Caucus, I am pleased that the federal government listened to our collective voices and took action.” said Sheehan.

Sheehan is further happy to see support for the health and wellness of Canadians in the Budget. Measures which he feels will benefit families dealing with health and mental health issues every single day.

” In 2018-19, the Government will provide nearly $38.6 billion to the provinces and territories under the Canada Health Transfer, an increase of $1.4 billion over the previous year, to help provincial and territorial health care systems adapt, innovate and address new challenges.
” Help for individuals and caregivers of those suffering from dementia so they can access the help they need. $20 million over 5 years starting 2018-19, and $4 million per year on-going to support community-based projects which address the challenges of dementia.
” Increasing research funding to address Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries for Public Safety Officers, investing $20 million to support those who keep our communities safe.
” Building on the federal actions to date, the Government will provide $231.4 million to combat the national opioid crisis through a number of measures, including $150 million in immediate emergency funding to the Provinces and Territories.

“The government has taken significant action to address the opioid crisis, not only in large urban centres but in our smaller, rural towns and communities as well.” Sheehan says.
The Government will continue to build on action taken in 2016-2017 where we modified the trade system through amendments to the Special Import Measures Act, to help strengthen the steel industry and ensure the trade remedy system is effective and fair. In light of the essential function that the Canadian International Trade Tribunal performs in Canada’s trade remedy system, the Government proposes to amend the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act to ensure that it continues to effectively deliver on its mandate.

Jobs and the economy are of considerable importance to MP Sheehan. Seeing the federal, provincial and territorial governments undertake important negotiations on the Labour Market Transfer Agreements is ideal for Sheehan. These new agreements, expected to come into force on April 1, 2018, will provide an additional $2.7 billion over six years, to provinces and territories to address skills and training needs, which will allow people to advance their careers.
A $100 million investment for rural broadband is another item Sheehan is glad to see in the new budget.

“This investment in rural broadband will allow Canadians in every region of the country to participate fully in the digital economy, by providing remote and underserved communities with Internet access. Our needs are different in terms of building infrastructure, we need to be innovative and the Government has clearly heard us and is taking action on prioritizing high speed internet access in rural areas.” said Sheehan.
Budget 2018 takes significant steps to ensure everyone has the opportunity to fully contribute to the economy, leading to economic growth that works for all Canadians.