On Monday, Gord Johns, Member of Parliament for Courtenay-Alberni, announced he will officially open community offices at the end of February and beginning of March, with his main office in Parksville and satellite offices in Courtenay and Port Alberni.
"This will be the widest service area ever achieved by an MP from this region," Johns, an NDP MP, said through a news release. "We've had to be innovative in order to reach more people and hear from more voices in different communities."
Johns also announced that he has hired a full staff compliment — which includes former NEWS reporter Candace Wu — that will operate out of the community offices. "I've brought together an energetic community team that has a deep understanding of the people in our riding as well as the issues they're facing," said Johns.
Johns said he and his staff will continue to reach out to community groups, local businesses and governments, as well as offering individual casework services for constituents. Those services include support for existing applications with Citizenship and Immigration, Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Pension Plan and OAS, Employment Insurance, Canada Student Loans, as well as birthday and anniversary greetings.
Here's a look at a full schedule of openings and hours of operations for each community office (contact information was not provided by the MP's staff):
Parksville community office (main office) — 12A-1209 East Island Highway. Regular hours are Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., opening Saturday, Feb. 27, 1-3 p.m. Courtenay community office (satellite office) — 357 4th Street. Regular hours are Mondays, 10 a.m.-
4 p.m., opening Monday, Feb. 29, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Port Alberni community office (satellite office) — 4841-A Johnston Road. Regular hours are Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., opening Tuesday, March 1, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
— NEWS Staff/news release from office of MP Gord Johns