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Now the real work begins Every election one must re-earn the right to sit in the House of Commons to represent the people, and this past election was no exception. I want to thank the people of WellingtonHalton Hills for re-electing me to the House of Commons. I also want to thank all the volunteers who worked on our election campaign. Hundreds and hundreds of volunteers worked on the various local campaigns, donating thousands of hours of time, many taking time off work. It is humbling to see that level of commitment from ordinary Canadians, who do it for no other reason than a deep belief in their country and in their party. I was also especially heartened to see the high level of civic engagement in Wellington-Halton Hills. As it was in the 2004 election, voter turnout was over 70 per cent in our riding, and higher than the national average. Now the real, difficult work of governing begins. As indicated during the election, we have a number of priorities. The first priority of our government will be to introduce sweeping new accountability rules by passing the Federal Accountability Act. Our second priority will be to provide tax relief to lower and middle income Canadians by cutting the GST by one per cent. Our third priority will be to strengthen the criminal justice system so that our communities are safer. Our fourth priority will be to help parents with the cost of raising children, through our proposal to give parents $1,200 for each pre-schooler in their family. Our childcare proposal is far more flexible than the previous government's proposal, as this money can be used for day care, for a babysitter, or PARLIAMENT HILL REPORT Mike Chong to help a parent stay at home. Our proposal will help not only double-income families working 9-to-5, but also shift workers, farmers, and single income families, people who were left out of the previous government's plan. Finally, our fifth priority will be to improve public health care by working with the provinces to establish the Patient Wait Times Guarantee. Since Canadians have given us a minority government, these priorities will need the support of the other parties, something I believe will be found on an issue-by-issue basis. By voting for a minority Conservative government, Canadians have given us their trust and dreams for this great country. I know that this trust and these dreams can be quite fragile. As a new government not having been in power for over 12 years, there is no doubt that we will make some mistakes as we transition into government. But be rest assured that you have my and my colleagues' commitment to work our hardest and to do our best for you, for this great riding of Wellington-Halton Hills and for the greatest country in the world, Canada. --Mike Chong is the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills