With the reading of the throne speech and the tabling of the budget Parliament is now back in session.

Since Parliament was prorogued in December I have traveled throughout the riding. I have been in Thompson, The Pas, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Flin Flon, Norway House, Cross Lake, Grand Rapids, Easterville, Cranberry Portage, Wabowden, South Indian Lake and Lynn Lake. I have spent time visiting communities on the winter roads - Pukatawagan, Oxford House, God's River, God's Lake Narrows, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point, Poplar River, Berens River, Bloodvein, Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids.

In this Parliament we have some clear choices to make. We can stay the course with the failed policies of the past that leave too many behind or seize the opportunity to ensure all Canadians benefit in the economic recovery.

The federal government is promising billions in new spending on more corporate tax reductions, while hiking taxes on the paycheques of recession-weary Canadians and the payrolls of their employers.

The federal government's plan means billions of dollars for those who need help the least, and billions in new costs on hard-working Canadians who need a break the most.

What needs to be done? We need to start with the economy. Across Canada there are 1.5 million people unemployed. Here in the North we have many communities with high unemployment. Now is the time to invest in education, training and job creation.

We need to act on pensions. We need to do more to protect our employee pension plans. With seniors’ poverty doubling, now is the time to lift our poorest seniors out of poverty through improvements to the Guaranteed Income Supplement.

We need to do more to invest in housing and infrastructure in Northern and Aboriginal communities. We need to ensure we continue important programs like the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Politics is about choices. It is time we chose to address the needs of all Canadians not the needs of the well- connected few.

Throughout this session of Parliament I will be fighting to ensure that our needs and concerns in Northern Manitoba are addressed.