Dear friends,

Thank you for continuing to take COVID-19 seriously. I know that physical distancing is difficult, especially during the holidays that have recently passed, but the more sacrifices we make now, the earlier we will be able to begin to resume a normal lifestyle. 

As we navigate these challenging times, we are all going to have some tough days. To help Canadians obtain credible information and access supports for their mental health and well being, earlier this week, the Minister of Health, the Honourable Patty Hajdu announced the Wellness Together Portal to help Canadians connect to peer support workers, social workers, psychologists and other professions for confident chat sessions or phone calls. For further information on the Wellness Together Canada portal, please continue reading through this newsletter. 

In addition to the Wellness Together portal, there are also local supports available here in Burlington. The Reach Out Centre for Kids remains available to support families during this difficult time and are answering calls between the hours of 9am and 5pm on business days. Further, if you are in crisis, you can contact the 24/7 ROCK crisis line at (905) 878-9785. 

This past week there were significant investments made by the Government of Canada to continue to support individuals and businesses from coast to coast to coast. Improvements to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, the Canada Emergency Business Account and further supports to assist rural communities and businesses who are struggling to pay rent are but a number of the good news announcements that were made. As we continue to progress through the COVID-19 pandemic, our Government remains committed to helping Canadians get through this crisis and we will continue to listen and adapt our responses accordingly. 

I would also like to take the time to highlight the immense efforts that are currently underway by the Minister of Public Service and Procurement Canada, the Honourable Anita Anand in getting Personal Protective Equipment to Canada. In addition to existing supplies and materials that are being manufactured domestically, Canada has imported: 14 million pairs of gloves, 17.5 million surgical masks, and around 2 million N95 masks with much more to come in the near future. 

Here in Burlington, there continues to be kind gestures of caremongering. The Burlington Old Timers Hockey Club recently opted to donate $12,900 in their winter season funds to the Carpenter Hospice to help them through the COVID-19 Pandemic and today, 19 individual homes in our community help food drives for the Burlington Food Bank. 

This week is National Volunteer Week. Normally, I would hold my annual Volunteer Appreciation Awards Evening. Since we cannot gather in person, I have decided to launch the "Community Heroes Project." I will share daily stories of the amazing volunteers we have in our community on my social media. To learn more and see how you can nominate a Community Hero, please see below. 

As we move through the COVID-19 Pandemic, Burlington is demonstrating that we are a community full of compassionate leaders who are here to help. To help recognize these efforts, I have decided to highlight a community member each week who has been nominated for their upstanding contributions to Burlington through COVID-19. To learn more, please see below.

As times goes on, staying home and not seeing friends is going to be even more difficult. We're going to miss our colleagues, our friends, our neighbours, and our families even more than we do now. But we have to remain disciplined. We must stay the course. 

We cannot let the progress we have made go to waste. Above all, we cannot put lives at risk. As I have said before, the future is in our hands. We must continue to wash our hands, stay at home as much as possible, and if we do go out, maintain a 2 metre distance from one another. If we persist, we will prevail. 

Sincerely,

Hon. Karina Gould
Member of Parliament
Burlington

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