Cape Breton MPs go back to Ottawa with a wish list

Cape Breton's two MPs, both Liberals, will take a list of wishes with them into the new session of Parliament on Thursday.

They both say they've been meeting with constituents and organizations since the federal election in October.

Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking said issues in his riding include everything from the reopening of the Veterans Affairs office in Sydney to the proposal to build a giant war memorial at Green Cove in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

He said the Veterans Affairs office will likely reopen next year and he'll be looking for a lot of answers from the environment minister and Parks Canada to his questions about the Mother Canada statue.

Eyking said people want to know if the privately-sponsored project has the money it needs and whether it has followed the proper procedures.

He said Cape Breton's high child poverty rate is also a big concern. A report issued last week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives pegged the rate at one in three children in Cape Breton.

Cape Breton Canso MP Roger Cuzner said there are also serious federal issues of importance to his constituents. He said people want changes to employment insurance and old age security, changes that were promised in the election campaign.

Eyking said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also working on changes to the way the House of Commons operates, including a longer Question Period and changes to the structure of parliamentary committees to give them a bigger role in government.

The first session of the 42nd Parliament opens at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday.