Ottawa trip found willing ear
By John Mohan

Leading an inner city non-profit agency affords me opportunities to engage with elected officials from every level of government and political party. Most are willing to visit Siloam Mission and discuss social justice issues with me.

But last Monday I was in Ottawa for a two-day meeting. Thinking Kildonan-St. Paul MP Joy Smith might be around, I e-mailed her that my wife and I were in town in hopes we could connect. Joy is a strong personal supporter and public advocate of our organization. Knowing she's busy and may already have scheduled meetings, I thought getting some of her time during my short stay was unlikely.

Much to my surprise, her office responded in short time that Smith was happy to have dinner with us and offered to host us at the parliamentary restaurant on Parliament Hill.

After first meeting in her West Block office, we were bussed to the Centre Block, where the restaurant is located. While in transport she introduced us to some of her fellow parliamentarians, explaining who we were and what we do in Winnipeg. She seemed proud that some of us Winnipeggers were visiting her.

Dining in the parliamentary restaurant was a remarkable experience. The room is ornate, historic and profound as the most powerful people in our country's history have dined and discussed issues of national and global implications.

Our conversation there was also important.

Maybe not nuclear war important, or preventing the break-up of Canada important but still important. Smith was interested in my take on the Brian Sinclair tragedy and the WHRA and HSC public relations fiasco. I told her the story gets uglier by the day and I knew all along it was never Brian's fault he died in Emergency during a 34-hour wait, and maybe some non-profit organizations should be running the hospitals again. She also wanted to know what's on the horizon for Siloam Mission and what needs to be done to address Winnipeg homelessness.

I revealed we hope to eventually create three kinds of housing: Supportive housing for the mentally and physically disabled who find themselves homeless; transitional housing so those ending up on our streets can stabilize as a step to moving toward permanent housing solutions and affordable housing so those on social assistance or living on minimum wages can have homes without fear of whether or not they can afford both a roof and groceries.

I asked about her day.

She'd put in a long day.

She talked about her private member's bill to amend the Criminal Code to include a minimum sentence of five years for cases where the trafficked victims were under the age of 18. Bill C-268 is third on the order of precedence so it will come up in March for second reading and could pass by the summer. She said she needs MP support across party lines to get her Bill passed.

How about contacting your MP's office to encourage them to support the obviously needed change? Joy Smith would appreciate it.

--John Mohan is the CEO of Siloam Mission.

Originally printed in the Winnipeg Sun, Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
Reprinted with the permission of Sun Media Corporation.