From his seat on the opposition side of the House of Commons, Timmins-James Bay New Democratic MP Charlie Angus sees a productive time in the parliamentary session that just wrapped up.
Angus says he has worked across party lines and gotten some important initiatives launched.
“It’s almost unheard of to get unanimous support for any Member of Parliament’s motion,” he observes. “I’ve had three major initiatives passed this house, plus I had two previously in the Harper government, so it’s pretty much a record in recent parliamentary life.”
Those three most recent initiatives are closing the child welfare funding gap; establishing a national suicide prevention strategy, and asking Pope Francis for an official apology for what happened in church-run residential schools.
“I’ve met with the Church many times on this,” says Angus. “I’ve just received an invitation to meet with the Pope’s personal ambassador in Canada and this is about closing a chapter. It’s about saying some really bad things were done. Let’s own up, let’s fess up and let’s start moving on as a nation.”
Angus is running for re-election on October 22nd.
