The Local Weekly The heart and soul of our communities with news and information about the Sunshine Coast
My hope during the holiday season and New Year has been for good wishes to be fulfilled.
Thank you to Kim Tournat, Maggie Hathaway, and Elizabeth Parkinson in Victoria for fielding constituents’ requests and concerns, managing the numerous advocacy and scheduling requests, researching government policies, and making sure I get where I’m supposed to go.
As many celebrate holidays or otherwise mark the festive season and the New Year, we Sunshine Coasters also remember those who are going through difficult times. For those experiencing challenges in their lives, this season is not always a happy one. For those hospitalized or incarcerated or otherwise separated from their place of comfort, we have a community that cares. That caring is evident in the donations to charitable causes for children and seniors, for the homeless and for those who are not well.
This past year has been an eventful one for many people in the constituency of Powell River – Sunshine Coast, and for the constituency as a whole. We’ve had a lot of contentious issues to discuss, to argue over, to befriend and unfriend each other; hotels, sewage plants, grow-ops, libraries, parks, resources, rights, and ferries. I’m always reminded by the wise words of the Clerk of the House upon being first elected, that we use our words to work through our differences because it’s always better than the alternative. Let’s hope the New Year in politics is one of intelligent dialogue and conciliation.
Traditions, gathering together for food, parties, music, worship and gift exchanging, reflect the practices of many background and faiths. They are a regular and important reminder that kindness, generosity and togetherness are central in all our cultures.
On behalf of all of my colleagues from every side of the House, wishing everyone a peaceful and healthy New Year.
