Dear Friends, 

It is hard to believe we are already through the first month of 2020. I hope your year has been off to as wonderful of start as mine has been.

To kick off the year, I hosted my fifth annual New Year's Levee at the Art Gallery of Burlington and this one just might have been the best one yet! With close to 300 people in attendance, we had the Town Crier, David Vollick ring us in to the New Year followed by Burlington's own singing veteran, Bill Reid to lead us in the singing of our national anthem. I had the opportunity to once again present Community Calendars to the Grade 5 students from across Burlington who submitted their fabulous artwork that fill the calendar. Since becoming your Member of Parliament, this has been one of my favourite projects as it brings joy to participants, families, and friends right across Burlington. 

Immediately following the Levee, I was on my way to the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo in my role as the Minister of International Development. Our country is proud of our long-standing collaboration with both of these countries and recognizes the continent of Africa is changing quickly. Our relationship needs to be reflective of these changes so together we can support economic growth and regional security that benefits everyone. For more on my trip to Central Africa, please see below. 

Upon my return to Burlington, I visited St. Paul Catholic Elementary School to speak with the Grade 5 students about the role of government. It was wonderful to hear such great questions ranging from our Governments support to combat the Australian wildfires to our commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Just last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the Burlington Special Olympics Team as they hosted their basketball tournament at Haber Recreation Centre. As you may know, my family are quite the basketball fans. It was great to see some good competition and team work and I was happy to hear that the Burlington Team in "C"  Division went undefeated and took the championship! Congratulations to all those who participated! 

I also had the opportunity to attend the Compassion Justice Speaker Series on Migration: From Global to Local at Port Nelson Church. This event was the third installment of their series with the fourth and final taking place on February 23rd. Thank you to Port Nelson and the Roseland Community Organization for the invitation and for allowing me to be part of the conversation. I look forward to continued dialogue.

On January 27th, I returned to Ottawa for the first time in 2020 as the House of Commons resumed. I am much looking forward to the coming months in this first session of the 43rd Parliament as we continue to work for Canadians on important issues such as debating the new Canada - United States - Mexico Agreement. 

As we enter February, I look forward to  seeing you all in and around the community at one of the many great events we have coming up. As a reminder, 2020 is also a leap year so we have the opportunity to appreciate a rare February 29th.

Sincerely,


Karina 

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