Denise is sworn-in as a Member of the upcoming 39th Parliament
Ottawa, February 13th, 2006

VICTORIA - Victoria MP Denise Savoie will push for increased federal support for post-secondary institutions and training programs in her new role as NDP critic for Intergovernmental Affairs, Post-Secondary Education, Literacy and Training.

“I am excited about my new critic assignments, as I’ve been interested in these subjects for many years,” said Savoie. “I will work with Jack Layton and my caucus colleagues to advocate for more support to our colleges and universities, and for a comprehensive training and apprenticeship strategy to address the growing skills shortage, that is having a serious impact here in Victoria and across Canada.”

Savoie’s critic assignments were announced earlier this week following her official swearing-in as Member of Parliament for Victoria.

“With record surpluses in Ottawa and provinces continuing to face funding pressures, I will hold the Conservatives to their election promise to ‘fix the fiscal imbalance’ by ensuring stable and long-term funding to help provincial governments fund health care and education programs,” said Savoie.

“It is an honour to represent our community in the House of Commons,” said Savoie. “In addition to my caucus critic areas, I will also speak out for Victoria’s interests in Ottawa, including securing federal funding for sewage treatment, honouring the child care agreements so that community child care projects can proceed, and prompt completion of the Victoria Urban Development Agreement.”

Savoie’s community office at 970 Blanshard is now open to serve constituents.

Contact: Denise Savoie - 363-3600.

Thank You Victoria

I am truly honoured to have been elected as the next Member of Parliament for Victoria. My commitment to you is to serve this constituency with integrity, to be accountable to my constituents, and to make decisions based on the public interest at all times.

To everyone who voted for me in this election, and those who voted for other candidates, I will work to earn your trust and keep your confidence every single day from now until the next election. I look forward to working with Jack Layton and our much bigger NDP caucus to fight for progressive values in the next Parliament, and to defend Victoria’s interests in Ottawa.

I want to congratulate all of my opponents in this election. In these days of cynicism about politics, individuals of any political stripe that put their name forward deserve our gratitude and our respect.

I also want to recognize and honour David Anderson’s 40 years of service to our community. While we are of different political persuasions, I admired David’s tenacious fight to stop offshore oil and gas exploration and for Canadian ratification of the Kyoto protocol on climate change. As the next MP for Victoria, I will be a tireless advocate on both of those issues, so that we continue to move forward towards a sustainable economy.

There is not enough space here for me to thank the hundreds and hundreds of people who worked on my campaign, knocked on doors, delivered pamphlets, staffed our phone bank and contributed financially to my campaign. To all those volunteers and to my tireless campaign staff, I can only say that I am profoundly grateful for all of your efforts. This was truly the best organized and most fun campaign I’ve ever experienced, and this is all because of your dedication and enthusiasm that kept us going through 8 long weeks of winter campaigning.

Thank you so much – merci beaucoup!!!

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