Gerald Soroka: Message to my constituents

While the House will be rising for the summer, my colleagues and I will continue to fight for Canadians and ensure they have the freedom and support that they need to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since this crisis began, I have had many constituents reach out to me, saying that they were falling through the cracks in the programs announced by the government. While others, such as seniors and farmers, felt like they were being ignored altogether. My colleagues and I brought these concerns to the attention of the government. We were able to pressure them into providing support for seniors and amend the eligibility requirements for the CEBA so that more farmers would be able to access it. These are important steps in the right direction, but there is still much more that needs to be done.

As part of my role on the Agriculture Committee, I heard from witnesses pointing out that much of the “support” the government announced for farmers was reallocating funds that were already available through the AgriInvest, and the money provided for the set aside program barely covered the costs for a few weeks. The business risk management programs for farmers were insufficient before the pandemic. They are not sufficient to support farmers now. The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food will continue to meet through the summer, and we will look for ways in which we can amend these programs to deliver better results for Canadians.

As the restrictions on public gatherings start to be relaxed, I will be attending events in the riding, schedule permitting.

Please reach out to my constituency office at Gerald.Soroka.c1@parl.gc.ca or (780) 723-6068 to inform me of any events.