Kody Blois

One year ago, a senseless tragedy shook our province. Today, at 3pm, we will observe a provincial moment of silence to remember and honour those who were taken from us and those most impacted by the events that took place on April 18 & 19, 2020. The Nova Scotia Remembers Legacy Society will hold a memorial ceremony, coinciding with the moment of silence. To tune in, please visit this page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/162084731778930.

Congratulations to Sidney Singer of Kennetcook, who has been accepted to Princeton University. Princeton is recognized as one of the top undergraduate institutions in the United States, and I was particularly pleased to see Sidney wanting to study public/international affairs and politics. Congratulations, Sidney!

Today, Chuck Porter announced he would not be reoffering for the next provincial election. I have had the privilege of working alongside Chuck and he has been a strong advocate for the people of Hants West for the past 15 years. All the best to Chuck, Leslie, and the entire family in their next chapter.

The aviation sector is crucial to our country's economy and is a major employer here in Kings-Hants. I know this has been a challenging year for those working in the sector, and I'm glad our government has been working with airlines to ensure the regional routes that connect our country and the jobs they provide will be in place to keep our economy moving through the COVID-19 recovery.

Sport and recreation infrastructure is crucial for bringing communities together. Acadia University’s Raymond Field is an integral part of the Annapolis Valley’s recreational infrastructure. Not only does it support varsity athletes at the University, it also serves community members and attracts provincial tournaments and events to the region. Today, on behalf of Minister Catherine McKenna, I was pleased to announce $400,000 toward the replacement of the turf to ensure Raymond Field supports athletes for generations to come. This project is all about partnership, and it wouldn’t be possible without the matched funding commitment from both the Province of Nova Scotia and Acadia University, and the support from the Town of Wolfville and the Municipality of the County of Kings County, Nova Scotia.

Making an important infrastructure announcement at Acadia University.

Whether it is at the Birthplace of Hockey on Long Pond in Windsor, or in the bubble in Edmonton, hockey is Canada’s game and I am sending my best to Hockey Canada tonight as they take on USA in the Gold Medal Game at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Special wishes to our 4 Atlantic Canadians on the team, including Halifax’s Justin Barron. GO Canada GO!

In case you missed it, this was an exciting announcement I made before Christmas -- $2.6 Million for a new facility for Corridor Community Options for Adults. Congratulations to the entire CCOA team for the amazing work you do every day to support our community.

Wishing you and your loved ones a merry Christmas and a happy and propsperous New Year.

Thanks to all the Canada Post staff who are working hard to deliver Christmas to Canadians this season.

Today I was excited to be in Enfield on behalf of Maryam Monsef to announce $2.6M towards the construction of a new building for Corridor Community Options for Adults. The work that happens at CCOA is truly incredible, and this investment will allow them to serve up to 125 participants and staff from its current total of 44. As our community grows so does our need to provide a proper facility to accommodate the work that happens at CCOA, which has been serving our community s...ince the 1970s. The Municipality of East Hants also announced a $200,000 contribution, and earlier this year Stephen McNeil had announced $1.5M toward the construction of the new building. The capital campaign to support CCOA’s contribution towards the $6.5M project is underway and if you would like to contribute you can call CCOA at 902-883-9404 or email [email protected]

I always welcome getting out on weekends to enjoy the community breakfasts across Kings-Hants. On Saturday it was breakfast at the Kentville Lions Club, where Town of Kentville mayor Sandra Snow was among those appreciating the good food and Saturday morning friendship of this nourishing event.

The countdown to Christmas has begun. Kim and I picked up our Christmas tree this afternoon from the Enfield, Elmsdale & District Lions Club who are selling trees from Scothorn Farms at Rob Bitar's Ristorante parking lot. There are a lot of great options across Kings-Hants to support community organizations selling real trees grown by members of the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia.

It was a pleasure to join Chrystia Freeland and Eleanor Beaton for a conversation about the impact of the pandemic on the economy, particularly its disproportionate impact on women and racialized Canadians. We had a great discussion on key areas of focus for economic recovery, including childcare and early education to ensure parents are able to fully participate in the workforce. Eleanor is recognized nationally and globally for her work as a women’s leadership expert, business coach, and writer, and lives in Windsor, NS.

Christmas is just around the corner. I was reminded of that this week in Enfield with the beautiful Christmas tree near St. Bernard’s Church. Whether in Enfield, or our communities across Kings-Hants, community groups and volunteers do wonderful work to decorate and light up trees to ensure our neighbourhoods are feeling festive for the holiday season. Thanks to all those who contribute to help make Kings-Hants look even more beautiful this time of the year!

Excited to be hosting a virtual meeting with Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership candidate Iain Rankin tomorrow night at 7 PM to discuss Nova Scotia's rural economy and his plan if elected to be Premier. I hope you all can join us to listen or ask questions.

I hope you will join me in congratulating Greenwich’s Linda Best who, earlier this month, was named to the Order of Nova Scotia. Linda is a graduate of Acadia University who spent her career working at the QEII Health Sciences Centre as a medical microbiologist, researcher, consultant, and a director for Capital Health. Linda grew up on a family farm in Kings County, and her desire to support local food production led to the creation of FarmWorks Investment Co-operative Limit...ed an organization to support local agriculture related businesses. To date Farm Works has raised more than $3 million and has granted more than 100 loans to local businesses. This week I had the chance to visit Linda and give my congratulations on behalf of the Government of Canada. Read about all the 2020 Order of Nova Scotia recipients here: https://novascotia.ca/iga/2020recipients.asp

Happy 95th Birthday Papa Blois! It’s a special day for a very special guy and I wish you the absolute best. Cheers and many happy returns Papa!

The Prime Minister has announced that the government expects the first shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Canada next week. The expected 249,000 doses will be distributed across the country based on population, meaning Nova Scotia should receive 1,950. Frontline health workers will be the first to receive the vaccine followed by long-term care residents as new doses arrive. This process will roll out over a period of months but eventually the vaccine will be available to everyone. In the meantime, it will continue to be important to follow all health protocols in order to keep infection numbers low.

Today is the Hants County Christmas Angels telethon where proceeds are supporting families in need in our communities. I had fun co-hosting this afternoon with Hants-West MLA Chuck Porter. Thanks to all the volunteers who make this tradition possible, the phone lines are open until 8pm (902-798-5050) please consider donating to a great cause!

Before I was elected, I sat down with Dairy Farmers of Canada NS-Chair Gerrit Damsteegt to talk about the importance of the supply managed sector to rural communities across Canada. This weekend our government kept its promise to compensate our supply managed farmers for market access granted under CETA and CPTPP. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced a $1.5 billion investment to support dairy farmers over the next 3-years. Our government is also investing $691 million over 10-years towards mitigation efforts for the poultry and egg sector. These monies will be used by farmers to invest in their businesses or help grow their market. This is particularly important in Kings-Hants as we have over 200 dairy, poultry, and egg farms, the greatest concentration in Atlantic Canada.

Friday is the 50th anniversary of The Flower Cart Group. It also marks the launch of the capital campaign to build a new facility for the organization. I was pleased to join the celebration today and to announce a $1 Million contribution from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency toward the project. Thank you to all the staff, participants, and volunteers with the Flower Cart for your tremendous work in our community!

This morning I was thrilled to announce live on Zoom a $1 million contribution to The Flower Cart Group through Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Innovative Community Fund on behalf of Minister Mélanie Joly.