As you may have heard, our national anthem will probably be changed in the very near future.

Last week I questioned the Minister of Agriculture on why he has ignored calls from farmers to intervene on a decision by the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) that will change the sanitation requirements preventing the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus in Western Canadian swine herds.

OTTAWA, ON - Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris, urged his fellow parliamentarians today to support the Conservative Caucus' motion in the House of Commons to recognize the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy and support its development by supporting the Energy East pipeline. The project is backed by the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick and would dramatically cut the amount of oil traveling by rail each day and scale back our dependence on foreign oil.

OTTAWA, ON - Larry Maguire was sworn in today as the duly-elected Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris after being successfully re-elected with over half the vote on October 19th, 2015. This is Maguire's second term as Member of Parliament, after serving for 14 years as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Arthur-Virden.

Ottawa, ON - Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris gave a Members Statement in the House of Commons on June 18th, 2015 to pay tribute to the Baldur Regals Senior Baseball team who earlier this month were inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ottawa, ON - Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris highlighted increased financial support proposed for individuals taking care of family members facing a significant risk of death. Compassionate care benefits, which are provided through the Employment Insurance (EI) program, are available to individuals temporarily away from work to care for a sick family member with a significant risk of death. Effective January 3, 2016, the proposed enhanced benefit will allow claimants to collect up to 26 weeks of benefits, up from the current 6 weeks. The benefits can also be taken within an expanded period of 52 weeks (up from 26 weeks) and can be shared between family members.

Ottawa, ON - Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris announced the New Horizons for Seniors Program call for proposals for local projects. The Program provides funding for projects that encourage seniors to play an important role in their communities by volunteering, participating in and leading community activities. The program also provides funds to help organizations make necessary modifications or repairs to their existing facilities, or to purchase/replace equipment and furnishings to enable programs and activities for seniors. The application period begins immediately and will close on July 10, 2015.

Ottawa, ON - Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris applauded the decision by Canada's new Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Erin O'Toole, a Veteran himself, who announced two memorials will be created in the nation's capital to pay tribute to Canada's Afghanistan mission and to Victoria Cross recipients.