Duncan Jewell addresses Huron-Bruce Liberals Saturday at the federal riding association's annual meeting at the Lucknow Legion. (photo submitted)Duncan Jewell addresses Huron-Bruce Liberals Saturday at the federal riding association's annual meeting at the Lucknow Legion. (photo submitted)
Midwestern

Huron-Bruce Liberals Elect New Riding Association Chair

The Huron-Bruce federal Liberal Riding Association has a new chair.

The annual meeting Saturday at the Lucknow Legion saw the election of Duncan Jewell of Goderich as the chair of the riding association.

He takes over from Wingham lawyer Virginia Schenk, who stepped down after her five-year term. Schenk will remain an executive member.

"Today is exactly two years to the day from the next federal election on October 21, 2019," Jewell told the crowd.    "We made great strides in the last election, but there is a lot of work to do."

The guest speaker for the meeting was the chair of the 54-member federal Liberal Rural Caucus.

New Brunswick MP T.J. Harvey told the Lucknow gathering that the rural caucus plays a critical role in reminding MPs from urban centres that one-size-fits-all policy solutions just don’t work, and that the concerns of rural communities must be heard.

"What’s important is that we recognize that the differences between rural and urban communities are night and day -- they’re polar opposites," Harvey said. "It’s important that we as MPs are lobbying for the policies that will effect change in our ridings going forward."

Harvey also met with a delegation from the Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity to hear about the group’s plans for a cultural hub in Blyth. He visited the Cowbell craft brewery, the Guelph to Goderich Rail Trail, and several sites in Goderich.

T.J. Harvey (centre) with former Huron and Bruce Liberal MPP's Murray Elston (left) and Carol Mitchell (right) at the federal riding assocation's annual meeting in Lucknow (photo sumitted)

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