Last month, my son John celebrated his first birthday. I was across the Atlantic Ocean, in Slovenia, promoting and advancing the Canadian government's efforts to achieve a Free Trade Agreement with the 27-country European.  The life of a Member of Parliament involves being away from your family a fair bit. 

"On behalf of the residents of York-Simcoe and of all Canadians, I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sapper Brian Collier, who died while conducting a patrol in Afghanistan.
Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time."  

The Honourable Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade and Member of Parliament for York--Simcoe, on behalf of Canada's Environment Minister, the Honourable Jim Prentice, today announced $335,000 for the Stormwater Management Retrofit project in East Gwillimbury. 

As we celebrate the 143^rd birthday of Canada, we can take pride and joy in living in the best country in the world.  Canada is a land of freedom, hope and opportunity - where by the dint of hard work and determination, it is possible to achieve your dreams. 
 

Here are the average MP expenses for the past fiscal year, with Peter’s beside that.  You will note that the only areas where Peter’s expenses are above average, are those that involve communicating with constituents — printing, advertising and telephone. 
 

As Canada has been coming through the global economic downturn, our Government has been focused heavily on the economy. That focus is paying off.  Last month saw Canada create over 108,000 new jobs – the biggest ever monthly jump in Canadian history.  
 

Today, Peter Van Loan, Member of Parliament for York-Simcoe and the Government of Canada announced $237,360 to upgrade the McCowan Road rail crossing in East Gwillimbury.  "Improving rail crossing safety is an important measure that our government announced as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan." 

Canada's Conservative Government has made the economy its top priority. With the global economic downturn that took hold almost two years ago, that became even more important. Now, with signs of economic recovery emerging, it is clear that Canada's Economic Action Plan is working.