Hughes seeks fourth term as MP (2 photos)

At her nomination meeting in Elliot Lake Thursday night, New Democrat Carol Hughes got the nod to run for a fourth term as the Member of Parliament in the federal riding of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing.

She told local supporters in George's Restaurant that hard work over her time in the House of Commons has paid off.

She noted, "there was a report published in January of last year that showed this constituency had received the second most funding announcements in the country during this parliament (156 projects getting $62.4 million in federal support since 2015)."

Among Hughes' proudest achievements is saving postal services in Constance Lake First Nation, Walford and Webbwood and getting new community mailboxes to replace derelict ones in Sheshegwaning First Nation and in rural settings.

She also saw to it federal money was provided for a fuel system and pump-out station in Meldrum Bay. Hughes said she has also worked to get funding that will save the Huron Central Railway. Along with that, she is also making a try to secure for additional funding in aid of allowing Huron Central to re-start freight service between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

Aside from serving northern Ontario business, she stressed the re-start would also offer relief to motorists on our congested highways. 

The incumbent MP told her audience the Trudeau government is "a disappointment." 

She added, "many of you understand that this government has done little to separate themselves from Stephen Harper on issues that matter the most to people."

"Whether it was the bold proclamations on Electoral Reform that amounted to nothing; the glacier-like pace on climate change that has only divided the country due to a lack of true leadership and inconsistent action; or the realization that corporate influence remains more important than the needs and concerns of hard-working Canadians."

Hughes said that because nearly half of Canadians are only $200 away from not being able to pay their monthly bills, "That's why New Democrats are fighting for important things like a universal single-payer pharmacare system, cracking down on tax cheats who increase the burden on everyone who plays by the rules, (getting) funding for First Nations communities for critical things like education and drinking water - and - addressing the growing housing shortage that is affecting our children when they want to buy their first home."

Summing up, Hughes observed, "I am proud that I continue to be a presence in the communities that make up this expansive constituency and of the strong bonds I have forged along the way."  

Hughes is the first announced candidate for any party running in the federal election Oct. 21, in the Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding.