www.WeeklyVoice.com NATIONAL Friday, April 12, 2019 | A-7 Ford Announces $28.5 Billion As Part Of Opioid Abuse Claiming Lives Ontario’s New Transportation Vision Of Thousands : Transit users and OTTAWA: The Public Health commuters across Ontario can Agency of Canada has released look forward to transportation new data showing that than 3,200 improvements as part of the- On Canadians died after apparent tario’s historic new transportation opioid-related overdoses between vision, Premier Doug Ford an- January and September last year. nounced on Wednesday. The data also indicates that fen- Joined by Jeff Yurek, Minis- tanyl and other fentanyl-related ter of Transportation, and Monte substances continue to be a “ma- McNaughton, Minister of In- jor driver’’ of Canada’s opioid - cri frastructure, Ford announced a sis, with 73 per cent of accidental $28.5 billion expansion to Ontar- apparent opioid-related deaths in io’s transit network. This is the the nine-month span involving most money ever invested to get the potent painkilling drug. shovels in the ground and get new Public Health says the crisis subways built. continues to affect the entire coun- “We announced the new On- try but certain regions, including tario Line to deal with the dan- B.C., Alberta and Ontario, have gerous congestion on Line 1, the Ontario Premier Doug Ford, right to left, Jeff Yurek, Provincial Minister of Transportation and been hit harder than others. Yonge North Subway Extension Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, make their way to a photo opportunity Apparent opioid-related deaths that will connect the subway to ahead of an announcement about Ontario’s transit network, in Toronto on Wednesday, April 10. are counted through data provid - one of the region’s largest em- ThE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young ed by the provinces and territories ployment centres, the three-stop lion into subway extensions. well as billions in infrastructure ered by 2027. from ofices of chief coroners or Scarborough Subway Extension Ontario has already delivered to support rural communities, he • The Yonge North Subwaymedical examiners. to better serve communities, and the long asked for expansion ofpointed out. Extension will cost $5.6 billion; Opioids can be hard to dis - the Eglinton Crosstown West GO Train service to Niagara Falls Ford also reafirmed the gov- will open after the Ontario Line.entangle from other factors in a Extension — a large portion and of St. Catharines, years ahead ernment’s commitment to work- • The Scarborough Extensiondeath, including different drugs which will be built undergroundof schedule; enhanced GO Train ing with Toronto to upload the costing $5.5 billionand will beand underlying illnesses, so to keep people and goods movingservice to Kitchener-Waterloo re- TTC infrastructure. “Today we delivered before 2030. the numbers take a long time to on our roadways. This is our gion;plan, committed billions to tran- are embarking on the most ambi- • The Eglinton Crosstowncrunch and come with qualiiers. our priority,” Ford said. sit projects for Hamilton and Ot- tious provincial transit buildout West Extension will cost $4.7 But Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s The province will invest $11.2tawa regions; moved ahead with Ontario has ever seen,” added billion and be delivered beforechief public-health oficer, says billion to support these fourthe long-awaited light rail transit McNaughton. “This is great for2031. the newly released igures serve as rapid transit projects. This -fundfor Mississauga; and announced people and good for jobs.” All projects will require $28.5a “stark reminder’’ of the- impor ing over-delivers on the govern- $1.3 billion to repair and rebuild • The Ontario Line will costbillion, of which the province hastance of maintaining and ramping ment’s commitment to put $5 bil- highways across the province, as $10.9 billion and will be deliv- committed $11.2 billion. up efforts to stop the epidemic. Trudeau Defends Changes To Asylum Laws; Calls It ‘Fair’ OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin refugees are sounding the alarm about the More than 41,000 asylum-seekers have enforcement and speed up the processing Trudeau is defending controversial chang- legal changes, saying they would strip crossed into Canada “irregularly’’ through of asylum claims. Finance Minister Bill es to asylum laws included in an omnibus human-rights protections from vulnerable unoficial paths along the Canada-U.S. Morneau said Canada wants to maintain budget bill tabled this week, saying his asylum-seekers. border since early 2017. By doing this, its reputation as a fair and welcoming government wants to ensure Canada’s ref- Trudeau said Wednesday that Canada they take advantage of a loophole in Can- country, but also one that is governed by ugee system is fair for everyone. has been seeing larger numbers of refugeeada’s “Safe Third Country Agreement’’ the rule of law. Trudeau echoed these com- The changes would prevent asylum- claims because of global instability. Sus- with the United States that allows refugees ments Wednesday. seekers from making refugee claims in taining Canadians’ conidence in the coun- who ind a way to get to Canada by avoid - “Every single person who comes to Can- Canada if they have made similar claims try’s asylum system means ensuring those ing oficial border checkpoints to make ada _ whether it’s regularly or irregularly _ in certain other countries, including the who enter Canada must do so according to refugee claims in Canada. goes through our immigration system, gets United States - a move Border Security the law, he said. “That’s why we’re putting The Liberals signalled their intent to get the full treatment within our asylum sys- Minister says is aimed at - premore resources in, and we’re also ensuring tougher on the border in the 2019 budget, tem.’’ But refugee advocates and lawyers venting “asylum-shopping.’’ the system is fair for everyone,’’ he told re- which included a plan for $1.18 billion say it would strip them of their ability to Lawyers and advocates who work with porters on Parliament Hill. over ive years to beef up security and law plead their cases before oficials.

From Prime Minister & Liberal Members of Parliament Happy Vaisakhi

Omar Alghabra Hon. Hon. Hon. Mississauga Centre Scarborough–Rouge Park Mississauga–Malton Waterloo Scarborough North Etobicoke North

Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau Hon. John McKay Hon. Papineau Mississauga–Erin Mills Brampton West Scarborough - Guildwood Markham–Thornhill Don Valley East Brampton North

Ramesh Sangha Hon. Judy A. Sgro Geng Tan Jean Yip Brampton Centre Humber River–Black Creek Brampton South Mississauga–Streetsville Mississauga–Lakeshore Kitchener South–Hespeler Don Valley North Scarborough-Agincourt