North Shore MP Linda Lapointe hard at work campaigning

(TLN) Rivière-des-Mille-Îles Liberal candidate Linda Lapointe has presented her 2019 report on her election campaign, a campaign she noted that was officially launched on Sept. 11.

It is a 40-day marathon, she notes, before the polls open on Monday Oct. 21 and, she adds, there’s only a short time left before the arrival of voting day.

 

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Wants second mandate

“My campaign has been very intense,” said Lapointe. “I’m very proud of it, because I have given everything to show the people of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles that I am the best candidate to represent them in Ottawa. It’s with great determination and motivation that I wish to continue my work for a second mandate.”

Throughout the campaign, Lapointe said she made her way across the riding through the area’s four cities: Deux-Montagnes, Saint-Eustache, Boisbriand and Rosemère.

“The people of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles were very welcoming to me throughout the campaign,” she said. “My goal was to meet them and listen for their opinions and concerns. I moved so much around; I went to the train stations of Deux-Montagnes and Rosemère, I participated in various activities and knocked directly on people’s doors.

Making a difference

“Believe me, I heard you and your interests are my priority,” she continued. “Mobility, seniors and the environment are my local commitments. I will work very hard to make a difference in your daily lives.”

As she pointed out, the Liberal platform was brought forward by party leader Justin Trudeau during the campaign. Their plan aims, among other things, to help the middle class through concrete actions. Lapointe noted that according to a group of researchers at Laval Universty, the Liberal Party stood by 92 per cent of its election promises during the past term.

North Shore MP Linda Lapointe hard at work campaigning

Lower fees for retailers

Lapointe acknowledged that in the past four years, one of the major accomplishments she helped to broker was an agreement reached by the Liberal government with large credit card issuers to lower transaction fees and rates paid by small and medium-size retailers.

“It’s going to be better for all our retailers,” she said. “Because when you own a small store you cannot negotiate with the banks. You don’t have the power to negotiate.

“Big retailers such as Wal-Mart, Costco and McDonald’s used to have fees very much lower. So I couldn’t understand why smaller businesses couldn’t also have lower fees.”

Beginning in January 2016, Lapointe, who had an established track record in small business and retailing (her father was a grocery store operator), worked on the dossier.

Transaction fees lowered

She was able to work out a deal with Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau that Visa, Amex and MasterCard would agree to lower fees for the smaller retailers across Canada. “It’s an agreement between the ministry, the government and those credit card issuers,” said Lapointe.

Lapointe said she has a similar project in the works affecting small to medium-size retailers and business operators that will see the light of day should the Liberals form the next government. Retailers would no longer have to pay federal goods and service tax on transaction fees. The measure would be part of the next Liberal budget, she added.

$49 million for flood protection

She said one achievement over the past term she was particularly proud of was being able to obtain $49 million in financial assistance from the Liberal government to help protect communities along Lake of Two Mountains and the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles from recurrent flooding.

She said she feels confident she will be re-elected on Oct. 21, although “I am not taking anything for granted,” she added. “I am still working hard. I still have a lot of door-to-door knocking to do.

“I invite you all to come and vote on October 21,” said Lapointe. “To vote is to express one’s opinion. It is a direct participation in democracy.”