For about half of the year, my work is based out of the Legislature in Victoria. There is a spring session and a fall session. In February, we begin a four-month stretch sitting Monday to Thursday. Fridays and weekends are reserved for in-constituency events, meetings with constituents and reconnecting with family. The fall sitting is in October and November and the rest of the year I’m working in my constituency or visiting other parts of the province.
I have had a wide-ranging legislative agenda over the past two years. A couple of highlights include, working with government early in the term to successfully ban big money from British Columbia and a persistent effort to launch wild salmon into the provincial political discussion by connecting the health and well-being of salmon with the province’s management of ecosystems and biodiversity. In addition, I’ve worked closely with government in advancing Indigenous reconciliation initiatives, critiquing old-growth forestry policies and working collaboratively on the Rental Housing Task Force.
The workload in the constituency is equally expansive. I’m thrilled to see the recent announcement that the work of many years’ effort from provincial and local politicians finally pay off with the investment in the Keating exit off the Pat Bay Highway. This is a major investment in safety on the Saanich Peninsula and a project I began advocating for with the Minister of Transportation immediately after my election. I’m not the first and only elected official to advocate for that project, it was definitely a collaborative effort.
The government’s support of the Salt Spring Commons housing project is also a welcome investment in affordable family housing on Salt Spring and just the first of a few projects in our riding that I expect will get government assistance. In addition, I will continue to advocate for more access to patient-focussed primary health care and rapid bus transit on the Saanich Peninsula.
Since my election, I have been working to build relationships across governments. I host regular luncheons with the local Mayors and First Nations Chiefs to increase understanding and awareness and to strengthen communication across jurisdictions. This will certainly continue in the future.
My team and I are in the process of planning our next series of community meetings on the Saanich Peninsula and all the Southern Gulf Islands in early December. As the dates and locations are confirmed, we will be promoting those events and I hope you will consider attending. This is an opportunity for you to get an update on the recently completed fall session of the Legislature and for me to answer your questions.
I am your advocate for provincial government services. My constituency team and I are here to assist you, if you need my advocacy please do not hesitate to contact me. The constituency office is located in the Landmark Building (#215-2506 Beacon Avenue) in Sidney, BC. We are open Monday-Friday from 10am-4pm. You can call us at 250-655-5600 and email us at Adam.Olsen.MLA@leg.bc.ca. My daily blog about life and work as an MLA is available at http://adamolsenmla.ca our constituency office website is http://saanichnorthandtheislands.com.
Thank you for this opportunity to serve you!
Image by Susanne Jutzeler, suju-foto from Pixabay
Very nice piece!