The riding’s newest MP was sworn in on Monday, and although he was still awaiting an office where he could focus his attention, Andrew Lawton joked there was always a vacant park bench or his hotel room, which would afford him an impromptu workspace.And before the week was over, Lawton had a warning for Liberal MPs.
Connecting with the Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP later that day he noted, “This is a chamber that I’ve studied and observed for years in my media career, and then to walk in on the floor wearing a Member of Parliament pin is a really surreal feeling.
“And it really underscores the honour it is to be here and to be representing the people of Elgin-St. Thomas-London South.
He conceded it will be a steep learning curve.
“There’s so much to learn as well. I mean, you can watch Question Period on TV, but that’s only one hour of a day, and there’s so much else going on. I mean, today, for example, was electing the Speaker of the House. Tomorrow is the Throne Speech.
“There’s a lot of ceremony and pageantry that I’m getting to be on the front lines of, which is a really unique experience.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney has put forth an ambitious agenda for the short, four-week term before the summer break, and while Lawton had hoped to sit in the governing party, he understands, as a member of the Opposition Conservatives, that he and the other members will be closely scrutinizing every move of the minority government.Lawton observed, “I have a role to play for the people in the riding. And we’re focused on working with whoever is prepared to put solutions forward that are going to help people.
“This is such a tight, tight Parliament in terms of the breakdown that if people are away or people are travelling or someone resigns their seat for whatever reason, it’s not inconceivable that there could be votes that come down to just one or two.
“So I think it’s going to be very, very interesting. I think it also means attendance will matter a fair bit this Parliament.”
Lawton is not part of the 74-member shadow cabinet assembled by Pierre Poilievre.
“So last week the party unveiled its shadow cabinet, which was largely the one it had going into the election. I think that Pierre Poilievre wanted some continuity there, people who had experience in the files.
“And for me, it’s, I think, a really solid team.”
“No matter which committee I have the privilege of serving on, there’s going to be something on there that will connect to people in the riding.”
He will be a committee member, and Lawton’s preference may surprise constituents.
“We got to put in our choices, and I ranked high on my list, agriculture, just because that’s one that is so directly tied to things that matter to our riding.
“But these decisions will be made when the committees are actually struck formally in the next few weeks.
“No matter which committee I have the privilege of serving on, there’s going to be something on there that will connect to people in the riding. I mean, if it’s a committee that’s dealing with housing issues, we know that housing is a concern.
“If it’s a committee that’s dealing with, you know, anything to do with the economy, these are obviously broad issues. So I think no matter where we go, I’ll make sure that I’m brushing up as much as possible and listening to the feedback from people in the riding on those issues.
“But agriculture is obviously a big one, but apparently it’s quite a competitive one.”
After the initial four-week dash leading to the summer break, Lawton is adamant the time will be put to good use back in the riding.
“And we’re making the same commitment to customer service, and it doesn’t matter how someone voted or if they voted at all. We’re there to serve.”
“Just to be able to meet with people in the community. Taking that time over the summer will be really valuable. I’m not planning on making it a summer break or a summer vacation. I’m going to be working full-time in the riding in that period.”
A priority being his constituency office.
“So I can actually tell you we’re going to be keeping the same office that Karen (former MP Karen Vecchio) had in the CASO station. Our staff are already working on supporting constituent files.
“I mean, especially in a riding that has a lot of smaller communities in rural areas. The MP’s office is a community hub in a lot of respects. And we’re making the same commitment to customer service, and it doesn’t matter how someone voted or if they voted at all. We’re there to serve.”
Parting thoughts after Day 1 in Ottawa?
“It’s such a tremendous honour to be here. And I was elected in part because of a lot of the things that I wanted to do and that our party was championing. And I’m just eager to get to work.”
Lawton delivered his maiden speech in the House of Commons on Thursday (May 29), where he warned, “I am here to tell the Liberals that their assaults on freedom will not stand. I am putting them on notice.”
We’ll have more on Lawton’s first speech next week in this corner.
POWERCO OPENING NOW 2028?
Included in Monday’s (June 2) agenda package for city council members is the sixth Industrial Development Update dealing with construction progress at the Yarmouth Yards industrial park, home of the PowerCo EV battery plant.
The report includes a construction timeline and summarizes, “In general, the project is on time and all challenges are being resolved.”
The obvious focal point is the massive plant itself, where work on the foundation was to have begun last summer. It is now scheduled to begin this summer, with the 2027 completion date apparently pushed back to the spring of 2028.
Construction of the PowerCo training centre building was also scheduled to begin last summer but is now due to begin early in 2026, with completion in the spring of 2027.
PowerCo’s temporary downtown office building is scheduled to remain in use until the end of 2028.
And a related project, the twinning of Hwy. 3 and associated interchanges being undertaken by the province will continue through to the end of 2029.
A MONUMENT TO CARE AND COMPASSION
If all goes to plan, a Lives Lost of People Experiencing Homelessness Monument will be erected in the city later this summer.
The project is an undertaking of the St. Thomas-Elgin Housing Stability Alliance (HSA), a group of local stakeholders and community members that helps to advise and inform the St. Thomas-Elgin response to homelessness.
According to a report to council from Danielle Neilson, Housing Stability Services Manager, the monument design will include “a lighthouse which represents hope and guidance, and historical railway culture which represents nostalgia, heritage and growth, and include a feature which allows visitors to leave notes and messages to lost loved ones.
“This unique feature was requested and strongly endorsed by people with lived and living experience as a meaningful and ongoing way to express grief and remembrance.”
The proposed home for the monument will be 230 Talbot Street, home of St. Thomas-Elgin Social Services, “which will symbolically connect the monument to the care and compassion that exists throughout our community.”
Subject to council approval, completion and unveiling of the art piece is planned to coincide with World Homelessness Day this year, October 10, “offering a powerful opportunity for community reflection, remembrance and awareness.”
DROWNING TRAGEDY SPURS CHANGE
A positive outcome from a tragic event.
That was the situation during the May 12 city council meeting.
Aided by a reminder from Coun. Steve Peters.
We referenced this two weeks ago in this corner after council members voted 5-3 to support a motion to draft a personal flotation device bylaw and place ring buoys on the shore around Lake Margaret.
By doing so, those councillors chose to override a recommendation from Jeff Bray, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities, that the city not proceed with the development of such a bylaw or the installation of the ring buoys due to potential liability issues.The undertaking became known as the Ryan Davies Project, prompted by the death of 26-year-old Ryan Davies last Labour Day when a canoe he and two friends were in tipped over and he drowned in Lake Margaret.
His mother, along with Briar McCaw, co-founder of the Elgin County Drowning Prevention Coalition, wrote to Mayor Joe Preston and councillors urging them to take action.
But it wasn’t until Peters stood up during debate on the motion and observed, “I just think that anything that we can do to help potentially save a life is something that we should do,” that the tide turned.
We spoke this week with King, who was unable to attend the meeting that evening.
“This is a huge, huge accomplishment. I’m so happy that they did that and very pleasantly surprised.
“I know that the parks and recreation group are having a meeting with the Lifesaving Society with some ideas on how to move forward with some more of these initiatives.”
Ideally, King would like to introduce a life jacket loaner program in Port Stanley.
” We’ve reached out to several businesses and people to try to get some help to store the life jackets. But I think with the drowning that took place in July of last year, you know, everybody’s a little more cautious on what they’re going to do and implement at the beach right now. “
“My heart goes out to every parent who’s lost a child. And sometimes things like this have to happen for change to take place, at least in Ryan’s situation, right?”
Last July, 14-year-old Omar Boz of London drowned near the pier at Main Beach in Port Stanley.
King continued, “We’ve got Stan’s Marina behind us from a donation of life jacket support. We’ve got the Port Stanley Village Association. They’ve got a subcommittee that’s really kind of supporting us.
“So we’ve got a lot of support. We just have to keep moving forward and bringing awareness. But we’re not going to back down. We’re going to keep plugging along.”
How does she plan to build on the momentum gained in the council chamber?
“Getting the word out to people about life jackets. And, you know, I’ve had a few people already say to me they went boating, they never wore a life jacket in a canoe before, and they’re doing it now.
“And just trying to build awareness. So we’ve got Drowning Prevention Week in July, so I’m definitely going to take part in all of those activities as well, in awareness campaigns.
“I’ve just been so happy to work with the Elgin County Drowning Prevention Coalition. They’ve been amazing. And all the parents who’ve lost their children. I mean, the most recent accident that we heard about with the tragic car accident (near Thorndale).
“My heart goes out to every parent who’s lost a child. And sometimes things like this have to happen for change to take place, at least in Ryan’s situation, right?”
FOR THE CALENDAR
A reminder of a pending disruption in the east parking lot at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital beginning Monday (June 2).
Over the summer, upgrades will be undertaken in the lot “to enhance accessibility, traffic flow, and overall safety for patients, staff, and visitors.”
The work will proceed in three stages, with the Wood Street entrance closed in the first stage and at least 100 parking spaces unavailable for use.Visitors should use the south parking lot or enter the east lot from Elm Street.
Work is expected to be completed sometime in August.
Project updates can be found here.
THE ECHO CHAMBER
In response to our item two weeks ago on Hospice of Elgin, Dave McCormick forwarded this thought.
“Disgraceful that the County of Elgin has not made a commitment to Hospice as of yet.”
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