CONTENTS Official Office Opening

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1 P.O. Box 20084, Belleville Ontario, K8N 5V1 May 2015 Newsletter It s Official! Office Opening!! Come out and help us to celebrate our Belleville Office Opening on Monday, May25th from 4-6pm. You are invited to join Neil Ellis, Team CONTENTS Official Office Opening Ellis, the Bay of Quinte Association members, friends and supporters as we celebrate the official opening of the Team Ellis Office, 222 Bell Blvd, (Reid s Dairy Plaza) in Belleville. Heritage Fundraiser with Peter Milliken Neil on the Campaign Trail (Photo Montage) President s Message Justin Trudeau s Vision for the Middle Class Another victory for Canada Andrew Coyne and 24 hours of Stephen Harper Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Mother s Day, May 10 th Invisible Ribbon Gala We have been working so hard in preparation for the upcoming election that we have not had an opportunity until now to stop and celebrate with you. So please come by the office on Monday, May 25 th between 4 and 6 pm and meet Neil Ellis, the new board of the Association and the Team Ellis volunteers. We are proud of our new office and of the training opportunities, phone banks and canvasses that we are conducting throughout the riding. We want to hear from you the issues and concerns you want Neil to take to Ottawa. Heritage Fundraiser This Thursday, May 14 th, Hon Peter Milliken will join Neil Ellis and community members to share ideas about Democracy and other issues of concern to our communities. Enjoy a wide array of our favourite Heritage appetizers. Join us at Capers Restaurant, 272 Front St. Belleville, 6-9 pm Tickets are $125 and a generous tax receipt is available. Call for tickets. 1

2 Neil Ellis and Liberals in Action on the Campaign Trail in April and May (From left) Neil and Sue Ellis, Anna Gainey, National President LPC, Mike Bossio HLA Neil Ellis Meets the Lieutenant Governor at OSUM Conference in Belleville Canadian Municipalities Against Racial Discrimination celebration Neil and Nathan canvas neighbourhoods Heading out for the Day of Action Walk a Mile in Her Shoes with Neil and Sue O Brien 2

3 The President s Message May 2015 Our Annual General Meeting took place on April 29th and our new Board was elected. We were pleased to have several new members elected. Both Devon Leone Taylor and Richard Hewitt will represent Quinte West on the new Board. Ben Howe and Michael Harris will join the Belleville contingent. Dianne Raniowski will be the new Membership Director. These new additions will greatly help us to get Neil elected. Speaking of Neil Ellis, he continues to canvas with many volunteers to get to know voters concerns. Personally, I would like to recommend Michael Harris book The Party of One. If you were unsure about what kind of man Stephen Harper is, this book will help you see why we have to work very hard to elect Neil and the Liberals. We continue to negotiate with Mr. Harris to come the Bay of Quinte as a speaker. Just to avoid confusion, our Michael Harris, Michael Harris, the writer and Michael Harris, the former Premier are three different people. I look forward to seeing you at the Heritage Fundraiser. The information is in this newsletter. John Brisbois President Justin Trudeau s Vision for the Middle Class As promised, Justin Trudeau has delivered on his long-standing promise to aid the middle class. Rather than presiding over its elimination as the Conservatives are doing, the Liberals have embraced the challenge to protect and enhance this vital part of our society. The following is a précis of the policy. Essentially there are three planks in the Economic Policy document released this week. The plan sets out more money for families to help with the high cost of raising children, giving middle class families a tax break by making taxes fairer and by cancelling income splitting and other unsupportable tax breaks and benefits. It will also provide more money for low-income households struggling to make ends meet. The Canada Child Benefit is the place to start. Fiction: Liberals will raise taxes on the middle class. We will cut the middle class tax rate by seven percent. Stephen Harper s priority is tax breaks for the wealthy like the doubling of the TFSA limit, which does nothing for 3

4 the middle class. Justin Trudeau is the only Leader who is focused on struggling middle class Canadians. Our plan will create economic growth and put more money in the pockets of those who need it most. We will ask the wealthiest Canadians to pay a little more so the middle class can pay less. Liberals will cancel Mr. Harper s income splitting and other tax breaks for the wealthy. We will introduce a new tax bracket for the top one percent on incomes over $200,000. Fiction: Liberals are offering no support to lower-income Canadians. Our plan gives families more money to raise their kids. The Canada Child Benefit provides greater, tax-free, monthly support to low-income families, when compared to Mr. Harper s system. With the Liberal plan, a typical one-parent family, with one child, earning $30,000 per year will get $533 tax-free every month. With Mr. Harper, the same family only receives around $440 after-tax. This plan is a part of our platform, and we will have more to say in the weeks and months to come about support for lower-income Canadians. Fiction: The Liberal plan for middle class fairness is unaffordable. Canadians have two fundamentally different choices. Mr. Harper s priority is a $2 billion tax break for the wealthy, and he wasted more than $750 million on partisan advertising. A Liberal government will make different choices. We will put more money in the pockets of the middle class. Our Liberal platform will be fully costed, and our commitment to balanced budgets will be demonstrated in the fiscal plan of our platform. Fiction: Liberals will cancel income splitting for seniors. A Liberal government will not end pension income splitting for seniors. Middle class families should not have to pay more to give families like Mr. Harper s a $2,000 tax break. We would cancel Mr. Harper s income splitting for families with children under 18. This is a $2 billion tax break for the wealthy, of which 85 per cent of Canadians will never see a dime. Fiction: The Canada Child Benefit demonstrates that Liberals are not committed to childcare. Liberals are committed to affordable, accessible, high-quality childcare. The Canada Child Benefit is one part of our platform, and we will have more to say in the weeks and months to come about support for childcare. 4

5 The Canada Child Benefit provides greater, tax-free, monthly support to middle class and low-income families, when compared to Mr. Harper s system. Another victory for Canada On Wednesday, May 6th, Anna Gainey, National President of the Liberal Party of Canada dropped by our riding to say hello and to meet Bay of Quinte Association members and volunteers. After mainstreeting in Trenton, Anna delivered remarks on the upcoming election to those gathered in Belleville. Anna finished her visit by meeting and thanking volunteers for the work they are doing to send Neil Ellis to Ottawa and reminding the gathering of the work still ahead. Gathered in the photo to cheer on the Canadian team in the IIHF hockey tournament are from the left, Neil Ellis, Anna Gainey, and the Collins family. Anna Gainey drops by for a visit 5

6 In case you have not yet enough clarity about the Conservatives Andrew Coyne lays it out in an article chronicling 24 hours in the life of the Harper Government. Read more about it at the following site but I warn you that it is disturbing /story.html Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Neil and Eric step out in their Red Shoes in support of the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event sponsored locally by Royal LePage ProAlliance Realty. With pledge forms in hand, men locally raised funds for Three Oaks Shelter to provide housing and programs to women and children seeking to escape domestic violence. Neil acknowledged that it hurt to wear the shoes but wearing them shines a light on the subject and brings the community together to talk about the issue. In the photo Neil prepares for the parade on Front Street in Belleville on Saturday, May 9 th. For more information on the event, follow the link Sunday, May 10 th is Mother s Day Mother s Day is a time to take some time to thank mom for all of the things that mothers do that generally go unnoticed. From the easy fix of a child s bandaged knee to the more complex support offered as children grow to adulthood, mothers play a defining role in the health and happiness of their families. Let s salute mothers for the work they do to keep us whole and healthy. 6

7 Invisible Ribbon Gala Quinte West On Saturday, Neil and Sue Ellis and Mike (Federal Liberal Candidate for HLA) and Irene Bossio, attended the 11th Annual Invisible Ribbon Gala, in support of members of the military and their families. Hosted by the non profit, Trenton Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) at the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Quinte West, the gala raises funds and awareness of the challenges faced by military families s they wear the invisible uniform. With constant deployments from 8 Wing Trenton on missions around the globe, military personnel are reassured that their families have the support in the form of the programs and professional services offered by the Military Family Resource Centre. 7

8 If we didn t ask It costs money to run an Association and to build a fund large enough to send Neil Ellis to Ottawa. While there are no paid members of the Association, there are budgeted expenses involved. Please consider making a monthly donation to the Party and to the Riding through the Victory Fund program. For as little as $10 per month split between the Party and the local Association, you can help to defeat Stephen Harper and to send Neil to Ottawa. Visit to sign up for the Victory Fund Donation limits have been raised this year to $1500 per individual and generous tax receipts are available. Please see the information that follows. Tax Credits All Canadians with taxable income receive generous tax credits when they donate to the Liberal Party of Canada. The size of your reduction in taxes payable depends on the sum of all your political contributions. Please use the table below to calculate your cumulative tax credit. Donations between 0 and $400: give you a 75 per cent refund; Donations between $400 and $750: give you $300 plus 50 per cent of any amount over $400; Donations over $750: give you $475 plus 33 1/3 per cent of any amount over $750 up to a maximum of $650 per year. Limits on Contributions Only Canadian citizens or permanent residents may make political contributions, in each of the following amounts: No more than $1,500 in any calendar year to each registered political party; No more than $1,500 in total in any calendar year to the combined entities of each registered political party (Electoral District Associations, Nomination Contestants and Candidate campaigns); Want to donate by phone? Call or mail P.O. Box 20084, Belleville, ON K8N5V1 We could use your ideas and your help. If you have ever thought about writing a response to the political events that affect us, consider submitting your article for publication to the monthly Bay of Quinte Newsletter. Call for details. 8