A message from Tyrone Benskin

Dear neighbours,
We are now in the thick of the autumn sitting of Parliament, going
toe to toe with Stephen Harpers ill-considered and unacceptable
agenda. The NDP has been progressively unveiling its policies
for a human, sustainable way to govern.
These are concrete, responsible plans such as:
a $15 minimum wage for industries in federal jurisdiction;
reversing the unilateral cuts the Conservatives made to health
care, restoring $36 billion in health transfers to the provinces;
a public inquiry into the neglected crisis of missing and
murdered Indigenous women;
returning the age of retirement to 65;
supporting sectors of the economy that we know can
spur Canadas stagnating employment rate, such as small
businesses, green industry, and sustainable infrastructure;
restoring, employment insurance, pensions, the immigration
system, and other such public services that have suffered so
much under Conservative control.
As always, while this all goes on, I will continue to closely follow
the issues that have a particular impact on us here in Jeanne-
Le Ber. Train noise and rail safety, the Champlain Bridge, social
housing, the postal serviceall issues that directly affect our
ridings territory.
Ill also be following the key issues that youre especially
concerned about. For example, over the summer, nearly a
thousand residents signed a petition to cancel cuts and ensure
stable, multi-year funding for the CBC. Clearly, people in Jeanne-
Le Ber, like those across the country, care deeply about their
national broadcaster. So does the NDP. Ill make sure your voices
are heard in Parliament on these issues. Youll also fnd updates
in this bulletin.
As always, feel free to contact me any time you want to share
your opinions or concerns. Together, we can reverse the damage
done by this government and create a country that refects what
we really care about.
Best wishes,
Tyrone Benskin
Member of Parliament for Jeanne-Le Ber
Over the month of August, my
staff and I and a number of
volunteers took part in a door-
to-door campaign to invite resi-
dents to sign a petition to de-
fend the CBC. This was part of
a nationwide NDP campaign to
let citizens express their opposi-
tion to the Conservative govern-
ments ideological war on our
public broadcaster.
Even though I already knew that
people in Jeanne-Le Ber care
about the CBC, I was surprised
at the vigorous reaction we got.
At nearly every door, if there was
someone at home, they signed
the petition at once. We col-
lected nearly 1,000 signatures in
Jeanne-Le Ber alone.
Since 1936, CBC has been a pil-
lar of Canadian culture, broad-
casting the realities of our iden-
tities and our languages. Its
production activities and its
support for the arts create and
sustain numerous jobs.
But both the Liberals and the
Conservatives have imposed
drastic cutbacks. Since they took
power, the Conservatives have
had the CBC in their sights. In
2012, they cut $115 million over
3 years from the CBC. Now they
aim to cut another 20% of the
corporations budget.
Foreign news coverage, hun-
dreds of jobs including those
of many veteran journalists, in-
house production of documen-
taries, and French-language
programming outside Quebec
are all in jeopardy.
The Liberals record is no better.
It was the Chrtien and Mar-
tin governments who started the
cuts, chopping a staggering $400
million, or 35% of its entire bud-
get.
All these attacks have left the
CBC highly vulnerable. We need
a strong, healthy public broad-
caster in this country.
Thats why Im proud to sup-
port the NDPs position. Were
calling for the cancellation of
these massive cuts and suffi-
cient, stable, multi-year fund-
ing to allow the CBC to fulfil its
mandate without being at the
mercy of the fickle advertising
market. The NDP will spare no
effort to save the CBC.
Jeanne-Le Ber stands up for the CBC
Riding ofce
2403, rue du Centre
Montral QC H3K 1J9
Charlevoix
Phone: 514.496.4885
Fax: 514.496.8097
Ottawa ofce
950 La Promenade
Building
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Phone: 613.995.6403
Fax: 613.995.6404
Mail to MPs does not
require a stamp
tyrone.benskin@parl.gc.ca
www.tyronebenskin.ca
Facebook : tyronebenskin
Twitter: @tbenskin
In this issue
1
Jeanne-Le Ber stands up
for the CBC
2
Political update :
Expropriations on
Rue May
Postal service
Electoral redistricting
3
Photo album
Political update:
Rail safety
4
In the community
Historical vignette:
Oliver Jones
Tyrone Benskin
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT // JEANNE-LE BER
Parliamentary Bulletin Autumn 2014
2 Tyrone Benskin, MP
Printed with vegetable inks on
100% post-consumer recycled paper.
As of the next federal election, the riding of Jeanne-
Le Ber will no longer exist.
Every ten years, following the census, the electoral map of Canada is redrawn
by a non-partisan electoral commission. Following their work in 2012 and 2013,
the electoral district of Jeanne-Le Ber will be divided up among two new rid-
ings.
The neighbourhoods of Saint-Henri, Little Burgundy, Griffintown, and Pointe-
Saint-Charles, along with Nuns Island, will join part of downtown Montreal
and the Old Port to make up the riding of Ville-MarieLe Sud-Ouestle-des-
Surs.
Mainland Verdun and the neighbourhood of Cte-Saint-Paul, along with
Ville-mard and part of the borough of LaSalle, will vote in the riding of
LaSallemardVerdun.
Regardless of this change, from now until the election, I will keep working hard
to represent the citizens of the entire riding of Jeanne-Le Ber.
Electoral redistricting
In March, my offce was contacted by
Ms. Mary Deslauriers, a resident of the
LAmbiance seniors residence on Nuns Is-
land. She wanted to let us know that Canada
Post had discontinued its practice of picking
up mail in the buildings mailroom.
She pointed out that many elderly residents
were not able to reach the nearest mailbox,
even though they rely on the mail to deal
with their affairs. She had collected a peti-
tion of more than 100 names requesting the
return of the mail pickup service.
My staff contacted Canada Post to explain
the residents concerns. Although the corpo-
ration claimed that it was unable to resume
mail collection inside the building, we pre-
vailed upon them to install a mailbox much
closer to the building just 20m from the
entrance.
It was thanks to Ms. Deslauriers initiative
that we were able to obtain concrete mea-
sures to improve the situation. This shows
how important citizen actions like hers can
be. One person can make a difference!
If youre experiencing a similar situation with
a federal organization or department, dont
hesitate to contact my offce to discuss how
we can help.
One citizens successful initiative
While numerous citizens in Jeanne-Le Ber
have spoken out against the abolition of
home mail delivery, and both the Sud-Ouest
and Verdun boroughs have formally called
on Canada Post to suspend its decision, the
NDP is pressing the Conservative govern-
ment to place a moratorium on converting
home mail delivery to community postal
boxes across the country.
Over the last several months, my New Demo-
cratic colleagues have visited several com-
munities to get a sense of where citizens
stand on the cuts to Canada Post and the
Conservative governments decision to end
home mail delivery.
The opinion everywhere is the same as here
in Jeanne-Le Ber: people are committed to
maintaining their postal services, and their
concern quickly turns to anger when in-
formed about the Conservatives plan and its
roots in their ideological opposition to public
services in general.
There is no valid explanation to justify these
cuts, the thousands of jobs lost, or the end
of home delivery services. Canada Post, a
Crown corporation, has been profitable
throughout the last twenty years. Far from
having its hands tied by unstoppable market
forces, Canada is the only G20 country to
consider ending home mail delivery.
Canada Post management has refused to
look at other sources of revenue that oth-
er countries postal services have used with
great success to cope with the changing mar-
ket conditions.
New Democrats continue to stand with the
publicand many dissatisfied Canadian
mayorsin their opposition to the changes
at Canada Post. A moratorium is the only way
to ensure that real public consultations are
held.
NDP demands a moratorium on converting to community mailboxes
Base map: OpenStreetMap contributors; CC-BY-SA 2.0 open licence
Rue May is a historic and surprisingly quiet
little street, tucked away just beside Auto-
route 15 in Verdun. Its home to a variety of
households, from a young family who just
moved in a year ago to a couple whove built
their life here for more than 30 years.
But this tranquil neighbourhood has just
been badly disturbed. The federal govern-
ment has unceremoniously informed these
residents that their houses will be expropri-
ated and destroyed to allow Autoroute 15 to
be widened on its way to the new Champlain
Bridge.
What is at issue here is transparency. These
residents are not simply impediments to ex-
panding infrastructure, or a public relations
liability to be managed; they are people.
A transparent decision-making process
would have looked at the question in public
and let people have their say as to whether
the expropriations are necessary, airing the
arguments for and against and helping the
residents to prepare for the possible change.
Instead, they are faced with a decision that
came without warning, and in spite of as-
surances that the bridge project would not
require the loss of any homes. Now they have
to scramble to rearrange their lives with little
opportunity to plan or prepare.
Transparency must be more than just a po-
litical buzzword. To mean anything at all, the
decisions their representatives make that af-
fect the lives of those they represent must be
made in the open.
So the question is, from this point on, how
transparent will the government be with the
residents of Rue May?
Expropriations on Rue May: a agrant lack of transparency
I want to hear from you
3 Jeanne-Le Ber
I would like to receive the E-bulletin
E-mail address: ____________________________________________
The CBC is a crucial public service that supports
our culture and keeps Canadians informed. But its
threatened by massive Conservative cutbacks that
threaten its very ability to fulfl its mandate, in particular
its duty to serve French speakers outside Qubec.
Do you agree with the NDP that the government
has to protect the CBC and commit to sufcient,
stable, long-term funding for it? o Yes o No
Comments:
1 Tyrone and several other NDP MPs take part in a demonstration called Je marche avec mon facteur,
against the loss of postal services and the abolition of home mail delivery. 2 At the Dfi sportif
AlterGo, one of the largest competitions for disabled athletes in the world, organized by AlterGo, an organization headquartered here in our
riding. 3 Meeting with representatives of Development and Peace on calling for the creation of a position of ombudsman for the extractive
industry, in charge of monitoring the behaviour of the Canadian mining industry abroad. 4 A party for the Fte nationale du Qubec,
organized by the Centre africain de dveloppement et dentraide (CADE). 5 Reception in Ottawa for the ambassadors and high commissioners
of the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Tyrone is the co-chair of the Canada-CARICOM Parliamentary Friendship
Group. 6 Launch of the Pointe-Saint-Charles Youth Services Co-op. 7 Community barbecue organized by the MPs office in Square
Sir-George-tienne-Cartier, in Saint-Henri.
2
3 1
4
5 6 7
Photo album
The Transportation Safety Board
(TSB) report into the July 6, 2013
derailment in Lac-Mgantic,
which caused 47 deaths, is very
clear: the government shares
part of the blame and must im-
prove its monitoring of railway
companies as quickly as possi-
ble.
Residents of Jeanne-Le Ber,
where three derailments (fortu-
nately without injuries) have oc-
curred in as many years, are pay-
ing particularly close attention to
these recommendations.
The report, published on August
19, clearly states that leaving
railway companies to regulate
themselves has failed and that
the federal government has to
step up its surveillance of these
companies operations.
The TSB is calling for increased
oversight from Transport Can-
ada and better physical safety
measures on trains.
We need to do all we can to im-
mediately ensure the safety of
Canadians. The NDP is urging
the Conservative government to
comply with the TSBs recom-
mendations without delay.
Its well past time for the govern-
ment to start paying closer atten-
tion to rail companies, to prevent
tragedies like Lac-Mgantic from
happening again.
Rail safety
NAME
ADDRESS, APARTMENT NO.
CITY, PROVINCE, POSTAL CODE
PHONE NUMBER
Tyrone Benskin
MP Jeanne-Le Ber
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
CUT HERE
A major recognition for the
Socit historique de Saint-
Henri: earlier this year, the so-
ciety was named a finalist for
the Governor Generals Histo-
ry Awards in the community
programming category. The
societys exhibition Histoire
denfance, which ran from No-
vember 2012 to May 2013, was
singled out for this honour
from among submissions from
across the country. The society
regularly holds exhibitions to
present its collection of more
than 100,000 photos, objects,
and documents recounting
the history of this deep-rooted
community.
521 Place Saint-Henri
(above the fire hall)
Place-Saint-Henri metro
514-933-1318
shsth@videotron.ca
What should our priorities
be in fighting poverty and so-
cial exclusion in Verdun? The
Concertation en dveloppe-
ment social de Verdun (CDSV)
invites Verdun residents to a
group discussion on the reali-
ties and problems they face. A
light buffet will be served.
November 12 at 5:45 p.m.
Verdun Auditorium, Salle
Denis-Savard
4110 Boulevard LaSalle
De lglise metro
To register: call Feyla Kbir,
514 362-1555, extension 226;
or communication@cdsv.org
Casa C.A.F.I., the Resource
Centre for Immigrant Fami-
lies, celebrates its 25th anniver-
sary on October 10. This Verdun
non-profit supports immigrant
families from all backgrounds,
though a large share of its cli-
ents come from Latin America.
It offers support, orientation,
and information during the of-
ten complex and daunting pro-
cess of immigrating, getting
settled, and integrating into so-
ciety. Offering workshops, food
support, language courses, cul-
tural programming, and other
interventions, Casa C.A.F.I. has
become an indispensible com-
munity resource. Congratula-
tions to Casa C.A.F.I. on its 25th
anniversary
4741 Rue de Verdun
Verdun metro
514-844-3340
casacafi@hotmail.com
On September 26 the Mai-
son du Partage dYouville held
a press conference on the des-
perate threat it faces to its abil-
ity to keep functioning. In a
packed hall, we heard numer-
ous moving personal accounts
of the work this organization is
doing in our community. For
the last 30 years, the Maison du
Partage dYouville has offered a
food bank, emergency support,
social and educational activi-
ties, and much more to thou-
sands of people in need.
2327 Rue du Centre
Charlevoix metro
514-935-9846
info@lmpy.ca
In the House
Since 1976, there seems to have been very little research or
work done in terms of preparation for the eventuality of an
outbreak that we now face. ...Why [have] we in the west...
not progressed further in terms of our understanding and
preparedness for not the possibility but the eventuality of
one of these diseases, be it the hantavirus, Ebola or Reston
disease, crossing borders and entering into other countries
that up until this point had not seen this disease?
Tyrone Benskin, MP for Jeanne-Le Ber
September 15, 2014
At your service
My team is here to help you with any concerns
you may have regarding federal services, such as
immigration, employment insurance, and federal
pensions (CPP, OAS, and GRS).
I am here to make sure your voice is heard in
Parliament. Do not hesitate to write, telephone, or
e-mail to let me know your opinions about the issues
that affect our community.
Historical vignette
This year, Little Burgundy celebrates the eightieth
birthday of one of its greatest sons: world-renowned
pianist and composer Oliver Jones.
Recognized as one of historys great jazz pianists, Dr.
Jones was born in 1934 in Little Burgundy, now part
of our riding. He began his musical career at the age
of 5 in Little Burgundys historic Union United Church,
Montreals oldest black congregation. He studied piano
with teacher Daisy Peterson Sweeney, sister of the late
great Oscar Peterson, also a son of Little Burgundy.
Dr. Jones honed his talent playing the many Montreal
jazz clubs and theatres, before embarking on a highly
successful recording and concert career.
Achieving international fame, Dr. Jones has been an
ambassador for Canadian jazz music. He has received
numerous awards and honours, including four Flix
Awards, four Juno Awards, the Governor Generals
Performing Arts Award, the National Jazz Award, the
Prix Oscar-Peterson, and the Martin Luther King Jr.
Achievement Award, as well as honorary doctorates from
four Canadian universities. He was named a Chevalier of
the Ordre national du Qubec in 1993 and an Offcer of
the Order of Canada in 1994.
Dr. Jones continues to contribute to the community of
his birth, lending his fame and talent to such cultural
initiatives as the Sud-Ouest boroughs public pianos
program.
On May 28, I had the privilege of paying tribute to Dr.
Jones in the House of Commons on the occasion of his
being granted the title of Citizen of Honour by the City of
Montreal. Since then, the MU art collective has honoured
him with a mural on the corner of Avenue Lionel-Groulx
and Boulevard Georges-Vanier. My very best wishes for
many more successful years.
In the community
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