Despite prorogation, work continues in Ottawa

Despite the Conservative government's suspension of Parliament, my work representing Halifax West has continued.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to shut down Parliament simply to avoid criticism proved to be very unpopular with my constituents and he was wrong when he said Canadians wouldn't care.
Over 700 people braved the winter cold to attend a "No Prorogation" rally on Jan. 23, and over 215,000 people have joined the Facebook group Canadians Against Prorogation. This grassroots action shows we do not take our democratic institutions for granted.
It was nice to see many familiar faces from Halifax West at the rally.
I've also had the pleasure of meeting with constituents about important issues like the funding cut to KAIROS, support for community environmental projects through ACAP and business and community projects in the riding. I also met with representatives from Citizenship and Immigration Canada to discuss immigration issues that were brought to my attention by residents of Halifax West.
Liberal MPs returned to Ottawa on Jan. 25 so we could continue to do our job as the official opposition. We intend to hold this government to account and to discuss issues like pensions, the environment and, of course, the economy and job creation.
We are putting our time to good use. Liberals have held a series of round-
tables on such topics as health care, homelessness, community safety, status of women and veterans.
As the critic for Natural Resources, I co-chaired a meeting with key players in forestry, agriculture and mining. We heard some very good proposals on how to create jobs and help these sectors contribute even more to our economy.
The insights we gained through these sessions will help our party shape its policies as we head into the next session of Parliament.
When the House does resume again in March, my focus will be on improving healthcare, education and transportation, protecting pensions and strengthening the economy.
I look forward to the opportunity to once again voice the views of people in Halifax West in the next session.