MPP Vic Fedeli’s Patch4Patch bill received royal assent at the end of 2015, but he says seeing it implemented midway through 2016 was a big highlight.

Fedeli says it started saving lives.

“It’s all because the Patch4Patch program was developed here in North Bay, by the North Bay Police Service and the Drug Strategy Committee, so the kudos are for them,” he said.

Fedeli’s new private members bill to make financial literacy mandatory in grade 10 passed first reading and will come back in the spring.

Successes this past year included the fight against a budgeted increase in prescription drug costs for seniors, which started in North Bay and took off across the province.

“It was the only thing taken out of the budget, so we found real success,” he said, “I was very, very pleased at the efforts of all of the seniors to rally and lobby to have that changed.”

When it comes to challenges, Fedeli says the number one issue is hydro rates and it all relates back to green energy contracts.

He points to a local company he visited last week that had $2,300 in electricity on a $54,000 hydro bill.

“Yes, hydro, hydro, hydro, that’s the number one issue and to try to break down the hydro bill, I just lay it out for them on the failed Green Energy Act,” he added.

On top of pressing the government to cancel green energy contracts now instead of five years from now, Fedeli says jobs are a big focus in the year ahead.

He says they’re going to push the government to focus on putting money into graduating students from programs where there is a huge demand for jobs.