A Successful Voyage

The Conservative Party of Canada has officially announced closure of nominations this coming Wednesday March 5th. at 5:00 PM for Thunder Bay - Rainy River District. After many months of phone calls, meet and greets, emails, door knocking and meetings we are moving to a new and very exciting phase of this process, where the Candidate that will on a Conservative ticket take the district into the what sounds like a soon to be called federal election will be chosen by you. We are so blessed as a people to have the freedom and right to take part in this process of democracy, many people in other countries do not have this privilege, let's never take it for granted.

20 plus years ago in Newfoundland I spent much time at sea. In a 65 foot steel boat that I had built new in 1991 and later in the 2000's in a 145 foot steel vessel that I was a shareholder in and captained in the High Arctic for several months at a time when the sea ice would move south from Baffin Bay. There is an old quote, I am not really sure who it belongs to, but it says…

"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore"

Vincent Van Gogh also said...  "The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore." 

Two of the many things I learned over these years:

1) Many times it takes nerves of steel to face the wild unforgiving North Atlantic Ocean and all the fury it can throw at you. 

2) You don't do it alone, it takes a boat that's well prepared, seaworthy and formidable. It takes a crew you can trust with a heart to make the voyage a success and a tenacity that won't quit. For me it also takes trust in an all powerful God who orders, guides and directs our steps.

As a nation we have had what I see as a very unqualified Captain over the past decade. Much harm has been done to the social fabric, the economy, our armed forces and our standing on the world stage. Breathtaking corruption, stunning fiscal waste, misguided policies, loss of freedoms, over regulation and the list goes on.

The good news is as a nation and as residents of TBRR we have the courage, tenacity and skill to turn this around. Ricky Skaggs said... "I cannot control the wind but I can adjust the sail."  We cannot control what takes place in other nations around the world but we certainly can control what takes place onboard the ship of Canada.

Thunder Bay - Rainy River and the NW Ontario region has so much potential and so much to offer. Let's look at a few.

✅ Mining: We are a world leading region for minerals such as gold, silver, nickel, diamonds, palladium, chromite, lithium and many others critical minerals. Not to mention the Ring of Fire, a massive project covering almost 5000 square kms.

✅ Forestry: Ontario has just over 70 million hectares of forest. We only harvest about 0.2% of that annually or about 12 million cubic metres per year. In 2022 we harvested less than 40% of what was approved and available.

✅ We have the most westerly Canadian port on the Great Lakes with rail access across Canada. Large cargo vessels, bulk carriers and others can navigate to tide water servicing the nations of the world with Canadian goods.

✅ We have the 4th. busiest airport in Ontario with room for expansion and growth.

✅ We have an absolute abundance of fresh water, manufacturing facilities, supply and service companies, dairy farms, fish hatcheries, tourism opportunities second to none with wild unspoiled natural beauty. The list goes on!

Let's work together as a courageous, efficient crew, brimming with tenacity, ready to take on the challenges that we face as a nation and region. I cannot do this alone but together we can make a successful voyage and as we would say many years ago in Newfoundland when returning with a boat completely loaded with 250 tonnes of fish onboard. "We had a bumper trip."

We can make the next decade one of prosperity in all areas of life like this nation has rarely seen. Let’s adjust the sails. Pierre Poilievre and a cabinet and caucus of common sense conservatives in leadership in Ottawa and a crew of like minded Canadians all across this great dominion can and I believe will make it happen.

The nomination meetings will shortly be announced after the official closure of nominations this coming Wednesday. I have spoken to many of you in person. With your party membership current, you have the ability to vote at one of the meetings. Many of you have expressed support, for that I am very grateful. I humbly ask if you are a party member to attend one of the meetings and consider voting for me to represent the district going into the election.

I want to hear from you, work with you and together let's be a ship's crew to be reckoned with, as we navigate the waters that lie ahead, making the best decisions for Thunder Bay - Rainy River and this great nation of Canada.

Thank you for your support. God Bless you and God Bless this great nation of Canada!

Craig Hussey

Nomination Candidate for MP, Thunder Bay - Rainy River captaincraigformp@gmail.com | 807-357-2006