Timmins politicians on what they are looking forward to when pandemic restrictions lift

The pandemic has forced everyone to pivot from their usual routines, including politicians.  

Timmins Member of Provincial Parliament (NDP), Gilles Bisson and Timmins-James Bay Member of Parliament (NDP), Charlie Angus said they might even have more work than usual, but the focus is different as they are helping constituents weather the lockdowns.  

"When someone doesn’t know how they’re going to pay their rent and they can’t get their record of employment because they’ve been unable to go to work because of OMICRON, that’s what we do," said Angus. 

"I lot of what I have has to do with the small business community, especially in this last lockdown, a fair amount of work with them to try and plug them into grant program and the energy rebate programs," said Bisson. 

They said they are both looking forward to moving projects ahead that they've been working on since before the pandemic began. 

Bisson said he expects construction on the $75-million redevelopment of the Golden Manor nursing home to begin sometime this spring and he also wants to work on improving home care in the area. 

"There’s not enough emphasis on to make sure people are able to live at home independently without having to go into an institution," he said.

And Angus said he's going to be doing research on bringing the nation up to speed on its commitment to dealing with climate change.

"Canada is going to impose an emissions cap, that’s our international obligation. I’ve pushed for studies: how does an emissions cap work on big industries like oil and gas?"

Angus added he's also excited to get back to a project that started in January 2020, on establishing an art centre in Timmins; and Bisson is getting ready to run in the spring election.  If he wins, he'll be entering his 32nd year as an MPP.