In their April budget the government announced a new, government-owned, high-speed internet backbone. It would take years to build and be very expensive. In the mean time many, many Islanders still wouldn’t have high speed internet. I asked why the government is not taking action right now. I suggested loans to internet service providers – […]
Simple Idea To Help Island Tourism Operators
Tourism is the third largest industry on PEI. There were over 1,000,000 overnight stays in 2017. Tourism brings in over $500 million to the PEI economy – which amounts to more than $50 million in taxes to government just from the provincial portion of the HST. Tourism operators provide the service of collecting this HST […]
Kombucha – Allow Islanders to Buy Local!
The Guardian just reported that locally-made Kombucha from Heartbeet Organics has been banned from sale in restaurants while at the same time imported Kombucha is available for purchase in grocery stores. http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/local/teresa-wright-kombucha-crackdown-180995/ Another case where government not only doesn’t encourage buying local products but actively deters this (provincial protein tender is another – they specify […]
PEI ATV Federation Needs Government Support
“There are thousands of All Terrain Vehicles on PEI but the current government has no plan in place to support the PEI ATV Federation in building safe places to ride, get fuel, and access restaurants and accommodations” stated Prince Edward Island Progressive Conservative Leadership candidate Brad Trivers. “As PC leader and future Premier of PEI, […]
Community Supported Agriculture
Have you signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program in your area yet? I would highly recommend it! Here is my member’s statement about CSA’s from the legislature April 11, 2017. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the many Community Supported Agriculture programs in our province – also known as CSA’s. A CSA […]
High Speed Internet
Hi, I moved to Stanley Bridge PEI six months ago. Not sure if this is the right place to raise this issue but it’s worth a try. We are currently on DSL Internet with Bell Aliant and was hoping to eventually have access to the High Speed Fibre which is running on our road on […]
EI Regions on PEI
This is a federal government issue, but one I get questions about. There are two Employment Insurance (EI) regions on PEI, and they have different “characteristics” based on their different unemployment rates (for period Feb 12, 2017 to Mar 11, 2017 below): Charlottetown (7.6% unemployment rate) Prince Edward Island (13.3% unemployment rate) Here is the […]
Slow Internet Access? Report it!
In the recent February 1, 2017 Standing Committee meeting on Education and Economic Development, Minister MacDonald was questioned. One of the questions I asked was, “who specifically should people contact if they have bad internet?”, so that the government can work to address the issues. The Minister said people should “Call our office right away.” […]
Reliable High-speed Internet Needed
Here are my questions on lack of high-speed internet – one of the biggest issues in D18 Rustico-Emerald. Questions include: Why are the terms of the Bell Aliant contract not being enforced? Why is Bell-Aliant allowed to charge the same rate for all DSL accounts – regardless of how fast? (e.g. high-speed internet rates for […]
Can government buy local?
What prevents government from buying local? The Atlantic Procurement Agreement has been pointed to – and so I asked for witnesses to present on it to the Public Accounts standing committee. At the October 5, 2016 presentation some of what we learned is: Detailed specifications for goods and services are encouraged, and if there is […]
