Statement from Hon. Joe Oliver, Member of Parliament for Eglinton-Lawrence

I welcome Marco Mendicino as the Liberal candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence in the forthcoming federal election. In spite of any forthcoming statement to the contrary, I doubt Justin Trudeau shares my welcome, since the leader of the Liberal Party orchestrated a highly criticized and controversial effort to support the candidacy of Ms. Eve Adams. What it means for Mr. Mendicino’s future in the Liberal Party to have thwarted the will of his leader can only be guessed. What is not a matter of guesswork is that Justin Trudeau has demonstrated, yet again, poor judgment in trying to parachute his chosen candidate into a riding against the will of the local community.

I was deeply honoured to be elected to serve the people in Eglinton-Lawrence and have worked for over four years to represent their values and interests in Parliament. I advocated for Mayor John Tory’s Smart Track project, for which the Prime Minister recently announced a federal investment of $2.6 billion. This transformative project will help alleviate traffic congestion in Toronto and the GTA. Also, I was very proud to announce in the budget that our government will invest $42 million in Baycrest Health Sciences’ world-class Centre for Aging and Brain Heal Innovation, right in the riding.

The electors in Eglinton-Lawrence will judge how well Prime MInister Stephen Harper and I have served them, how I have discharged my responsibilities as Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the GTA and how I have represented the Government of Canada around the world.

Joe Oliver
Member of Parliament for Eglinton-Lawrence