Dear neighbour—

With the holidays upon us, I wanted to take a moment to send you a quick update and season's greetings.

While it was a tough session in Ottawa this fall with a tricky minority parliament to navigate, by the time Parliament rose last week we did manage to get a couple of bills to committee, notably the Budget Implementation Act. The Finance Committee, which I chair, will begin to study it once we return in the New Year.

Despite the ongoing tariff situation with the United States, the Canadian economy has proved to be very resilient. The Federal government has made important investments to support tariff impacted sectors, significantly, major supports for our domestic steel industry, something that is very important for us locally.

I continue to be very engaged particularly with the Steel and Auto industries to ensure we are protecting jobs and supporting key parts of our local economy.

Through it all, I am always inspired by the incredible people we have in our community who are generous and caring and work hard every day to make Burlington such a special place to call home.

It's one of the things I love most about coming home from Ottawa: getting to witness and celebrate the people who do great things.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had the chance to participate in a number of holiday gatherings. From the Aldershot BIA Tree lighting, the Burlington Santa Claus Parade, St. Luke's Anglican Church Community Christmas Lunch and the Burlington Lions Club 100th anniversary where they celebrated by gifting $100,000 to three local charities: Carpenter Hospice, Community Living Burlington and Shifra Homes.

It just made me reflect on the pride and gratitude I have for this community. So many people give their time, talent and treasure to make Burlington better. At the Lions Club Anniversary I was introduced as "Karina from Burlington" and I just thought, yep! That's the best title I could have!! I am so proud to call Burlington home.

One piece of great news for our community: the Federal Government is supporting the Royal Botanical Gardens with the Canada Strong Pass so that general admission from now until January 15th is free for children under 17 and 50% off for youth ages 18-24. I hope you're able to take advantage of this fantastic program and enjoy the holiday magic at the RBG.

For the holidays, my wish for you is that you get to take some time to spend with loved ones, to rest, to reflect and to care for others.

I know the season can be both a time of great joy, but it also can be difficult for some people who are alone or who have lost a loved one. While we should aim to be kind all year long, it's always a good reminder to be extra kind this time of year as you never know what someone else is going through.

I hope to see you at my 11th Annual New Year's Levee on January 11th at the Art Gallery of Burlington. You can RSVP here.

A special thank you to our front line workers who are working through the holidays to keep us safe and healthy.

From my family and team to you and yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

All the best for the year ahead and let us continue to be community minded and generous.

With gratitude,