After a year that saw him finish second in the federal NDP Leadership race, Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus is looking ahead to 2018 and hitting the ground running locally.

He says the Leadership race was an honour and an amazing experience, but he’s happy to be back in the riding.

But one of the big things he took from the Leadership race is how politics needs to be better.

“It made me realize how much I like people and how much I dislike politics,” he said, “I say that in that politics should be about serving communities, it should be about speaking up and making a difference and I came out of that leadership (race) decided that I’m really going to re-focus my efforts on the people of our region.”

In 2018, Angus says there will also be a big push for tax fairness across the country.

“We’re dealing with Canada Revenue Agency targeting single moms, diabetics, small businesses and meanwhile, with the Paradise Papers, we see billionaires putting money offshore in accounts and nobody’s going after them,” he said.

“Canadians pay their fair share in taxes. They follow the rules, we’ve got to make sure that everyone follows the rules…for ensuring that the big boys and the big players don’t walk off scott free when everyone else is paying their share.”

“Having that money tucked away in the Cayman Islands does not cut it on my watch.”

On a local scale, Angus says he’s already set up meetings with those in the agriculture, mining and forestry sectors to discuss economic and community development.

Angus will also continue his push for a long-standing issue that’s no secret to people: services in the Far North.

“We’ve seen some progress, but we’re not seeing it fast enough,” he said.

Filed under: Local News