This week the Atlantic Accord is being considered by the Finance Committee. Consisting of twelve MPs from across the four major parties (5 Liberals, 4 Conservatives, 2 Bloc Québécois, 1 NDP), the Finance Committee has a difficult challenge: pass the budget and therefore the Atlantic Accord before the June 23rd summer break.

If the House closes for the summer and the Accord is not passed, this lingering piece of legislation that we have fought so hard for is delayed until the fall, and possibly another election cycle. This isn’t a risk that I want to take; I’d rather see the Accord made law as soon as possible, and not used as a bargaining chip amongst the competing parties.

To get through this stage, members from all parties are going to have to work together and put effective governance before party ambition. The Conservatives will have to decide whether to keep pushing for the fall of the Liberal government, while the Liberals will have to decide to step up and keep their promises.

What’s the Strategy? Inundating legislators with thousands of emails isn’t always the best strategy. That’s why I’m staggering this call to action over a period of days. Some of you may have arrived here because you saw an email from me today. Others might get an email tomorrow. By all means, if you are a visitor to the site but haven’t received the call to action, don’t go away! We need everybody to take action.

Send a Letter to the Finance Committee today, asking them to Speed Up the Deal.

For more background on the Atlantic Accord status, read this article from the Hill Times.