For Immediate Release October 26, 2009

Komarnicki Responds to Liberal Attacks on
MP Cheque Presentations

Ottawa- Ed Komarnicki, Member of Parliament for Souris-Moose Mountain issued the following statement regarding the use of ceremonial cheques for government announcements:

Outside of the Liberal Opposition Leader, a few others and some members of his party, no one is fooled by the fact that the presentation cheques are ceremonial in nature and a photo op to highlight what we as MPs and what our government is doing for our local communities. Although I have not used cheques for all funding announcements, they are a good focal point to highlight the funding that is flowing throughout the riding.

The fact of the matter is that these funds are going to seniors, to the youth of our communities, to roads, bridges, highways and much needed water and sewer upgrades and more recently to upgrade community rinks. This is something very different than what happened under the previous Liberal government.

It was during the Liberal term of office that they balanced the financial books on the backs of the unemployed by using roughly $50 billion from the EI fund for general revenues. The Liberals cut transfer payments to the provinces and territories by approximately $25 billion, thereby forcing towns and RMs to cut back on infrastructure spending on things like water, sewer, roads and bridges.

My office and I take a proactive approach on all grants and funding possibilities for our constituency and many times have been successful. That’s what MPs should do.

While I will adapt my practice where necessary in an attempt to silence Liberal critics, I will at the same time continue working for and on behalf of the constituents of Souris-Moose Mountain and where appropriate will use photo opportunities to highlight what is being done. These investments are helping to pave the way for our future growth.