Hello Mission – Matsqui – Fraser Canyon,
The Fraser Canyon and Fraser Valley are some of the best places in Canada to grow nutritious and tasty food. I take pride in telling my children that the chicken on their plate comes from a farm in Mt. Lehman, that their vegetables came from our backyard and the wonderful wine dad enjoys is from up the Canyon in Lillooet. That’s something to be thankful for.
If you’re able, please consider making a contribution to a local food bank this Thanksgiving.
- Program: Community Cares Food Bank and Shelter Worker - Lillooet Friendship Centre Society (lfcs.ca)
Mental illness and addiction awareness
It was heartbreaking for me to hear about the tragic death of Brianna MacDonald, a 13-year-old girl from Abbotsford who died last month of a drug overdose in a homeless camp. Brianna’s parents Lance Charles and Sarah MacDonald spoke at Health committee this week to speak about the lack of support they received for their daughter, who struggled with mental health and addiction. Despite her age, Brianna’s parents said she was able to obtain drug paraphernalia from Fraser Health, including needles, crack pipes, cooking kits, and pamphlets on how to cook and use drugs 'safely.' They cried out for different support systems, but the system failed them.
In committee, Lance was asked what he would say to Justin Trudeau. He responded: 'How can you put "safe" and "drugs" in the same sentence? It doesn't make any sense. Those two contradict each other completely... safe and drugs don't mix.'
Justin Trudeau's experiment to legalize hard drugs has failed, leaving ruined lives in its wake. Shortly after the death of Brianna, her close friend Chayton Point also died of a drug overdose in Mission. These are children from our community who are vulnerable to the dangers of drug use. Our children deserve better. Please take the time to listen to Lance and Sarah speak at committee, I am thankful for their courage in speaking out about this serious matter. More needs to be done to support our youth.
Truth and Reconciliation Rugby
September 30th was National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, where we recognize the dark history of the Residential School system in Canada. By wearing an orange shirt, inspired by Phyllis Jack Webstad’s personal story, it symbolizes the impact that Residential Schools have had on survivors and their families.
This year, I had the opportunity to play in a Truth and Reconciliation rugby game hosted by students from Abby Senior! I’m grateful for students like Kareem and Jay that served the community by organizing this Rugby 7’s tournament to honour this important day. The funds raised from this event will be donated to the Legacy of Hope Foundation. What a great way to come together to support indigenous communities across Canada! Click here to see a video from the event.
Affordability crisis
After knocking on over 5,000 doors this summer with my team, there was one constant message I heard. It is unaffordable to live in Canada. The dream of working hard to support or family and safe up for a downpayment on a home is lost. Before Trudeau, it took 25 years to pay off a mortgage – now, it takes 25 years just to save up for a downpayment. Things have gotten so bad that some families are forced into 90-year mortgages that they will never pay off.
Food bank usage is at an all time high, with British Columbia having the second highest poverty rate in the country. Within my own riding of Mission, we’ve seen reports of over 5,000 people accessing food banks each month. What’s jarring is that 38% of these people are children under 18. In Abbotsford I’ve heard from Archway Community Services that they can no longer meet the demands for increased food bank usage, urgently looking for more space to fill donation bags. Please click here to view my full speech on the housing and homelessness crisis.
At Transport Committee
The Committee agreed to devote a series of meetings addressing the horrible service standards of VIA Rail. While this is an important issue, I continued to remind the committee that Canada’s third most populous province barely has any train service from our national carrier. Instead, with officials present, I pressed them to answer questions on BC’s supply chain resiliency and the aftermath of the 2021 fires, landslides and floods. As you will note in some of my clips I had to bend a few words to make my line of questioning relevant to the study at hand.
With the entire leadership team of Transport Canada present I took the opportunity to raise the importance of building supply chain resilience back into BC’s critical infrastructure, which is also of national importance. Please click here to see me question the Minister and here to see me question officials.
House of Commons remains paralyzed
This week, Conservatives extended debate calling on the government to turn over documents to the RCMP. This delay is because the government is refusing to table seven years’ worth of records related to the Sustainable Development Technologies Canada (SDTC) organization within 30 days. The organization, which has since been defunded, was a federal program which was found by the Auditor General of Canada to have broken conflict of interest rule and made significant lapses in managing public funds.
On Monday, I had the opportunity to speak in the House about this matter. I emphasized the important of Parliamentary Privilege and how it is not the government that decides which papers it must provide it is the Parliament of Canada which decides which papers it needs.
Without respecting the use of Parliamentary Privilege and obeying the orders of the House to produce and bring forward the requested documents, it displays a complete disregard of respect for the House and its authority and duty to Canadians to provide them with accurate and transparent information. You can watch the full speech here.
Small businesses struggling
As the Shadow Minister for Small Business Recovery and Growth I had the opportunity to ask two questions in the House of Commons this week. Its jarring to hear the statistics on how small businesses across the country are struggling to stay afloat. You can watch me ask these questions here.
2025 Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon Calendar
Thanks to those who have submitted photos for our 2025 calendar! We are still accepting submissions of pictures from the riding during all seasons. If you have a great photo that showcases some of the natural beauty of our riding and would like to have it featured, please send it to [email protected] with “2025 MMFC Calendar” in the subject line.
Hearing from you
In my last newsletter, I asked if you think that this Parliament is worth saving, or if Conservatives should continue calling for an election. In total 50 of you took the time to respond; thank you
I also want to thank those who took the time to write longer responses in the feedback box. Many of you voiced your concerns about the government not listening to the people, the rising cost of living, increase of crime in communities, and rising tax hikes.
Don’t forget to fill out this week’s survey on whether Conservatives should continue to demand the release of all documents related to SDTC through debate in the House of Commons. Click here to fill out the survey.
Your feedback is valued. Please do not hesitate to contact my office to voice your concerns or seek assistance with any federal government programs at 604-814-5710 or [email protected]. I also encourage you to follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube, where I post more frequent updates on my work as your MP.
Thank you,
Brad Vis, MP
Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon