Menu
From 2014 to 2020, Erin wrote a series of blogs on issues impacting Canada and his riding of Durham. He also chronicled the changing geopolitical landscape during this time and the creeping influence of social media on politics and society. We invite you to explore these blogs that were often published in local, and occasionally national, papers. From 2020 onward, Erin focused on the Blue Skies podcast and eventually his Blue Skies Substack page, so you can explore his ongoing examination of issues on those sites.
Friday was a very important day in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister stood in the House and outlined the rationale for the government’s decision to deploy the Royal Canadian Air Force to assist the United States and the coalition of nation’s conducting air strikes against the terror group known as the Islamic State […]
I joined the Canadian Armed Forces (“CAF”) at the age of 18 after graduating from Bowmanville High School. I met some of the most passionate and talented Canadians during my years in uniform. Every man and woman that dons the uniform does so out of a remarkable sense of duty and service to Canada and […]
Last fall, Prime Minister Harper gave me additional responsibilities for International Trade as the Parliamentary Secretary. While my focus remains centered upon being an effective and strong voice for Durham as the Member of Parliament, I am also directly involved in growing new markets for Canadian goods and services. It is an exciting mandate to […]
Canada is doing well economically, but a government must always strive to develop policies that assist as many Canadians as possible. While our country leads most in the developed world in terms of job creation and economic performance since the global recession, I hear from families and seniors that are feeling the pinch each month. […]
One of the defining accomplishments of the Harper Government has been the laser-like focus the Prime Minister has had on growing new markets for Canadian goods and services. Canada’s largest trading partner, the US, has been struggling in recent years, so the need for new markets has been critical to our economic well being. This […]
The return of school this week and my attendance at a terrific event in Bowmanville last week served as inspiration for my latest blog posting. Last week I attended Picasso’s Picnic at the Clarington Visual Arts Centre. This event grows larger each year and is a celebration of some of the creative young people we […]
I have a vivid memory from my adolescence about the first time I used a pay phone. The phone was located in the old Bowmanville Arena on Queen Street where Rotary Park now sits. My Dad let me use the phone after my hockey game to let me tell my Mom that I had scored […]
A few weeks ago, The Orono Times published an article regarding the new federal electoral ridings and the name of the riding Northumberland-Peterborough South. Clarington residents from Ward 4 were understandably upset to learn that the locally familiar ‘Pine Ridge’ was taken out of the new riding name and replaced with Peterborough South. The article […]
(Blackstock Recreation Complex) Over the weekend the world began to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War (WWI). Just two weeks ago I joined a large group at the Blackstock Community Centre for the grand re-opening of this historic building. The fact that these two events are connected shows the tremendous […]
The tense situation in Ukraine with Russian aggression in Crimea and eastern Ukraine has captured the attention of the world in recent months and particularly in recent days with the terrible tragedy of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. While the Ukrainian-Canadian community in Durham has been following the troubling events in eastern Ukraine very closely, the […]
