10th Anniversary - Spring 2004
Dear Constituents,

In January 1994, I was officially sworn in as the Member of Parliament for Mississauga South. On reflection, the past ten years have been filled with a very broad range of activities and achievements of which I am very proud. For your information, I have prepared highlights of my ten years of service in Parliament.

On the cover, I am pictured at City Hall with Mr. Ron Searle, former Mayor of Mississauga, and members of the Canadian Military Reserves on the occasion of the creation of a new unit in Mississauga (photo by Steven Wahl). I have included a special feature on the creation of this new unit and on why the Reserves are so important to our military and to Canada.

I have also produced a substantial section on “Seniors Poverty” which has become a matter of serious concern. On December 10th, I held a Press Conference in Ottawa to announce my intention to table in Parliament an initiative to establish a “Guaranteed Annual Income For Seniors”. This is part of a broader range of initiatives which came out of public consultations and a Town hall meeting on January 13, 2004. Please contact my office if you would like to obtain a copy of my report on these consultations.

Parliament will have resumed by the time this householder is delivered. The first order of business is the Throne Speech which is the Government’s plans and priorities for the new session of Parliament. Copies of the speech are available from my office.

Finally, I have prepared features on literacy and on a remarkable poet in Mississauga. Your feedback on this report and other matters of interest would be most welcome.

Sincerely,

Paul Szabo, MP

As noted in my opening letter, I am pictured on the cover with Mr. Ron Searle and a number of reservists in full combat gear. Ron, who is a former Mayor of Mississauga, has been a good friend of mine for over 20 years and I have always admired him for his unwavering dedication to Mississauga and for his extraordinary contributions to so many community projects and public service.

Ron is also a veteran and was a member of The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s Own) where he rose from the rank of Private to become Company Sargeant Major. When he learned that the Toronto Scottish was expanding to add a new company of reserves in Mississauga, Ron took a lead role in the project. He also invited me to join him at the special ceremony in the Council Chambers of City Hall to represent the Minister of National Defence on this great news for our City.

The Canadian Army Reserve has played an important role in the defense of our nation since the late 1700’s and is a vital part of the operational capability of the Army and of Canadian Forces. Today there are approximately 15,500 men and women in the Army Reserve and that is scheduled to increase to 18,500 over the next 3 years. You will also be interested to know that the Army Reserves comprises almost 15% of each Canadian Forces international deployment. Army Reservists continue to provide the bulk of augmentation to our peacekeeping operations overseas.

They also serve right here in Canada when we need them. Thousands were deployed during the 1998 Ice Storm and more than 700 help in British Columbia last summer to fight the devastating forest fires. The Army Reserve is also a valuable national institution. Whether it is during cultural events, parades or festivals within their communities, Reservists offer Canadians a direct link to the Canadian Forces. They are fully trained to the same standards as our full time military personnel and they are true ambassadors for the Canadian Forces. For more information, visit their recruitment office at 33 City Centre Drive.

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Paul Szabo has a Masters of Business Administration degree from York University and a B.Sc. in computer science from the University of Western Ontario. Prior to his becoming a Member of Parliament, he was employed in the corporate and public accounting sectors for over 20 years. His former employers include TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. (Director of Finance) and Price Waterhouse & Co. (Chartered Accountant). He also operated his own Chartered Accounting and Income Tax Consulting practice for 3 years.

Paul’s extensive community and public service record includes:

• 9 years as a member of the Board of Governors of The Mississauga Hospital with three terms as Chair of the Finance Committee, two terms as a member of the Ethics Committee and one term as Vice Chair of the Board;
  
• 5 years as a Director and Member of the Board of Interim Place (community shelter for abused women and children) with three terms as Treasurer; and
  
• 5 years as a Director and Member of the Board of the Peel Regional Housing Authority.
  
• He is also a past recipient of the "Five Outstanding Young Canadians" award from Central Canada for his outstanding community service record and charitable work.

Paul and his wife Linda have resided in Mississauga since 1972. They have been married for over 30 years and have three grown children - Aaron, Reagan and Whitney.

PARLIAMENTARY BACKGROUND

Mr. Szabo was first elected to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament in 1993 and was re-elected in 1997 and again in 2000. Over the past 10 years in Parliament, he has been one of the most active MPs in Ottawa. Paul has sponsored numerous Bills and Motions and has delivered speeches, or participated in debate, on over 1,000 occasions. Mr. Szabo is highly respected throughout the House of Commons for his hard work and for being a most effective debater in Parliament. He has a 99% attendance record for votes in the House of Commons and has been recognized as one of the most knowledgeable persons on Parliamentary Procedures and Practices.

Mr. Szabo has been a member of a number of Committees of House of Commons including:

• The Standing Committee on Health (4 years)
  
• The Standing Committee on Finance (3 years)
  
• The Standing Committee on Transport and Government Operations (2 years)
  
• The Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Government Operations (1 year)
  
• The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (1 year)
  
• The Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development (1 year)
  
• Chair of Health Sub-Committee reviewing Bill C-7 on Controlled Drugs and Substances
  
• Member of Health Sub-Committee studying HIV and AIDS
  
• Member of Finance Sub-Committee studying the taxation of families with children
  
• Member of the Government Operations and Estimates Sub-Committee on the review of the estimates process
  
• Member of the Government Operations and Estimates Sub-Committee on the review of matters related to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner
  
• Member (representing the Chair of the National Liberal Caucus) of the Special Committee on the Modernization and Improvement of the Procedures of Parliament

In September 2000, Mr. Szabo was appointed by the Prime Minister as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. He participated in daily briefings on Departmental affairs and represented the Minister at a variety of official functions and speaking engagements. He was also responsible for answering questions in the House of Commons during Question Period whenever the Minister was away on Government business. Mr. Szabo served in the position until January 2003.

At the time of prorogation of Parliament in November 2003, Mr. Szabo was the Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates and also the Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. Each of these positions was elected by free vote by all members of the applicable Standing Committee.

PARLIAMENTARY INITIATIVES

In addition to providing support and services to their constituents, Members of Parliament spend a substantial amount of time working on Government policy and legislation. While most legislation is proposed by the Government, MPs may introduced their own legislative initiatives through Private Members Bills and Motions. These are debated and voted upon in Parliament.

Mr. Szabo has been one of the most active proposers of Bills and Motions. He has introduced over 20 Private Member’s Bills and Motions on a wide variety of subjects with emphasis on health, income taxation, children and the well being of the Canadian family. He is often referred to by the media as "The Family Man".

Some of his Bills and Motions included the following proposals:

• Amending the Employment Insurance Act to extend maternity and parental leave benefits to a full year. This was adopted by the Government and was effective on January 1, 2001.
  
• Amending the Income Tax Act to permit income splitting between spouses where one of them provided direct parental care in the family home to their pre-school children.
  
• Motion to amend the Criminal Code to define “Obscenity” in the Act to make the demeaning or degrading depiction of women, children and others an illegal act in Canada.
  
• Amending the Canada Pension Plan Act to permit stay-at-home caregivers to join the CPP and to qualify for benefits.
  
• Amending the Food and Drugs Act to require health warning labels on the containers of beverage alcohol to caution expectant mothers and others about the risk associated with alcohol consumption. A related Motion received 95% support in a vote in Parliament and Health Canada is considering the initiative as part of its National Drug Strategy.
  
• Amending the Canada Corporations Act to limit the number of concurrent directorships one person could hold thereby limiting the risk of conflict of interest.
  
• Amending the Canada Pension Plan Act to increase the CPP accrual rate for firefighters due to their shorter working career and shorter life expectancy compared to the national average. The change was adopted by the Government and implemented in 2002.
  
• Amending the Income Tax Act to convert the Child Care Expense Deduction to a Tax Credit so that the tax savings would be the same for all regardless of income level.
  
• Create a Public Safety Officers Act to provide a benefit to the families of police officers, fire fighters and other public safety officers who lose their lives in the line of duty.
  
• Amending the Income Tax Act to convert the RRSP deduction to a Tax Credit so that the tax savings would be the same for all regardless of income level.
  
• Amending the Divorce Act to require counselling prior to granting of a divorce where there was a dispute on child custody or a conviction for spousal or child abuse.
  
• Motion proposing a 7-point strategy to address the “Underground Economy” including a limited amnesty on interest and penalties where income was subsequently declared and taxes paid. Motion passed in the House and some of the provisions were implemented by the Government leading to a recovery of over $1 Billion in the first year.
  
• Amending the Income Tax Act to provide a “Caregiver Tax Credit” for those who provide care in the home to pre-school children, the chronically ill, the aged or the disabled. In 1997, the Government implemented a Caregiver Tax Credit for those who provide care in the home to an aged or an infirmed family member.
  
• Motion to create the Office of Physician General of Canada to advise Canadians on emergent health issues and on healthy lifestyle choices.
  
• Amending the Criminal Code to provide for stiffer sentences for those convicted of spousal or child abuse. This was adopted by Government and the Criminal Code was amended.

As part of his private member's initiatives, Mr. Szabo also developed "Drink Smart Canada", a national public awareness and education campaign on the risks to expectant mothers and others associated with the misuse of alcohol. Mr. Szabo designed and published two posters and educational literature which have been circulated across Canada through Nursing, Police and Firefighters Associations and by Health Canada.

He has also authored six books all in support of his extensive work on family and childrens' issues:

• "Divorce - The Bold Facts" (causes of divorce and the implications to the health and well-being of children)
  
• "Strong Families Make a Strong Country" (importance of family and social values to outcomes of children)
  
• "Tragic Tolerance of Domestic Violence" (symptoms of abuse and why only 15% of abuse cases are reported)
  
• "The Child Poverty Solution" (the relationship between family breakdown and other factors on poverty)
  
• "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - The Real Brain Drain" (explains the dangers of alcohol misuse on the unborn)
  
• "The Ethics and Science of Stem Cells" (examines the ethics and nature of human cloning and stem cell research with regard to Bill C-13, the much needed reproductive technologies legislation)

OTHER PARLIAMENTARY ACTIVITIES

• Mr. Szabo chaired a Government Committee concerning the taxation of families with children. This lead to a report entitled “Investing in Children” and to the introduction of his Bill C-204 which was adopted by the Government. The Employment Insurance Act was amended to extend maternity and parental leave benefits to one full year.
  
• Mr. Szabo served on the Executive of the Greater Toronto Area Caucus for six years.
  
• From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Szabo was the Chair of the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group whose purpose is to promote economic and cultural exchange.
  
• On January 31, 2001, in recognition of Paul’s work on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the Prime Minister announced a $25 million public education program. The Minister of Health also created a National Advisory Committee to develop a comprehensive strategy for FAS.
  
• Mr. Szabo developed a more effective approach for Parliamentarians to conducting a more effective review the annual budgets of Government Departments. The recommendation was adopted by the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates in October 2003 and was presented to Parliament for consideration.
  
• Mr. Szabo served 3 years on a Special Ad Hoc Committee reporting to the former Finance Minister, Paul Martin. The mandate was to examine financial and taxation initiatives for consideration in the annual Budget. Mr. Szabo was Chair of this Committee in 2002.
  
• He was instrumental in assisting the City of Mississauga to purchase and redevelop the Port Credit Harbour and in obtaining Federal funding towards the Living Arts Centre.
  
• Mr. Szabo writes and publishes Quarterly Householders which are distributued to every home in Mississauga South.
  
• He developed and maintains a comprehensive WEB site (www.paulszabo.com) which includes his Quarterly Householders, Press Releases, his books and links to all his Bills, Motions and speeches in the House of Commons. There are also links to Government of Canada departments.
  

Seniors’ poverty is a much more acute problem in Mississauga than most of us realize. Unfortunately, the facts are not as well known as they should be.

Poverty among seniors is more fundamental than among the rest of Canadians because seniors often have very few options to help themselves. The question to be addressed is “What level of poverty are we prepared to tolerate in Canada?”

Canada has never established a poverty line although Statistics Canada does have a calculation called the Low Income Cutoff which is often used by anti-poverty groups. Unfortunately, this is a relative measure which effectively says that the bottom 20% of income earners is poor. What we really need is an absolute measure of poverty which considers how much income is necessary to cover the necessities of life and to permit a person to live and participate in their community.

On December 10, 2003, at a Press Conference in Ottawa, I announced my intention to table in Parliament a number of initiatives to address economic poverty among seniors. Over the following days, I received numerous phone calls on the matter from constituents and all were very supportive. You may be interested to know that during 5 of those calls, the person relating their personal circumstances began to cry. I was very moved by their pleas for help and I am even more committed to make seniors’ issues a priority for the government. When the despair that a senior feels leads them to tears, you know that something must be done to ensure that all seniors can live in dignity.

Since that time, I have also had meetings with a number of people who work with seniors. In discussing the range of related issues, I noted that the issue of “ageism”, which is basically age discrimination, came up often. This opens up a very broad range of challenges which necessarily will involve the Federal, Provincial, Regional and Municipal levels of government.
On January 13, 2004, I also hosted a Town Hall Meeting at Port Credit Secondary School to listen to the concerns of seniors, their family caregivers and others. I had distributed some flyers locally and received the following note which I thought you might find of interest:

“Dear Mr. Szabo,

Thank you for your letter announcing the meeting on Seniors’ Poverty. The subject is of great interest to me.

People who will attend will be well dressed, mobile, with eyesight and hearing and have transportation.

Due to the lack of most or all of the above abilities, plus the shortage of finances, many like myself will not be able to attend. Thank you for thinking of us and we look forward to your success on our behalf.”

I have already had an opportunity to speak with Prime Minister Paul Martin about the issues. He is very supportive and has already established a Task Force on Seniors and I intend to work closely with them as they consult with Canadians. In the interim, I will be tabling motions in Parliament to consider the following initiatives:

• Implementing a guaranteed annual income for seniors;
  
• Eliminating mandatory retirement throughout Canada;
  
• Establishing Provincial, Territorial and regional “Poverty Lines”;
  
• Improving accessibility of homecare, pharmacare and affordable housing;
  
• Introducing stiffer sentences for those abusing or defrauding seniors; and
  
• Adopting a “Bill of Rights For Seniors” to guide public policy.

I am committed to see changes in Federal and Provincial laws and policies to ensure that seniors are respected and can live in dignity. Your comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Over the Christmas season, I had a visit in my office by Mr. Brian Margetson of Mississauga South. Before long we were talking about our family members and I was interested to learn about his spouse, Ann, who enjoys writing poetry. In fact, she has written 3,499 poems. I called her on the phone to congratulate her on her special talent and she agreed to write a poem for this householder. The following poem is for all of us. Thank you Ann.

SEEING BEAUTY
Standing by the lake in winter when the
water is shimmering blue,
The colour of the ice cold sky when the weak
sun shines through
The high white clouds that race across, being
whipped by the wind
With a relentless passion that no warmth or heat
could ever rescind.
Yet beauty bows before in the swaying of
each stately tree
And the patterns delicately painted
in spidery filigree.
The loons from the north finding some little
comfort in the bay,
As their driving magic to us they gracefully
and majestically display.
Toronto city in the distance shines like a
wonder wonderland,
The view from the Jack Darling park with it’s
cold soft sand
Is worth more than a glance even on an
icy cold day,
Come and see priceless winter beauty and
watch the dogs play.

(Millicent) Ann Margetson December 31, 2003

Visit us on the Internet: www.paulszabo.com

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