The MPP for Northumberland-Peterborough South says COVID-19 is a wide-reaching issue that certainly affected plenty of people and businesses in his riding.
David Piccini spoke to Quinte News about the past year as part of our year in review series.
Piccini says while the pandemic has had many negative impacts this year, he found a positive in the fact that it also has brought members of his riding and community together.
“Whether it’s just simply looking out for a neighbour, a loved one, an elderly member of our community. Whether it’s the Brighton Legion leading a thank you to oUr first responders and health care heroes, in every sort of trying time it really brings out the best in our community and we’ve really seen that in rural Ontario.”
Piccini noted that the province’s $15 billion investment into COVID-19 related supports has led to expansion of hospital capacities, increases in daily testing and reducing case active case counts per 100,000.
Looking away from the pandemic, Piccini says he’s proud of how local farmers have handled their business this year.
He says agriculture is the backbone of the economy in rural Ontario and the province has pitched in to help those farmers expand and continue to put food on people’s tables.
“So in our community we’ve invested a quarter-plus million into 22 projects in Northumberland-Peterborough South through the CAP partnership. They’ve invested that into new boiler systems, new sanitation systems, helping them increase their production. That means they’re hiring more people for good-paying worker jobs.”
Piccini says increasing the area’s manufacturing jobs and making significant investments into health care facilities and programs were the other highlights for him this past year.
