POLITICAL PRIORITIES
MPs talk about key issues
PRIORITIES
This session, Anderson is focusing on the agriculture and energy industries, trying to find a solution for the grain freight delays and the evolving debate over the implementation of a carbon tax, which he says are the main concerns voiced by his constituents.
Representing an area with a heavy agricultural presence and boasting a background in agriculture himself, Anderson is also focused on environmental laws — specifically the transfer of the Govenlock Pasture from Agriculture Canada to Environment Canada, which he says the federal government is dealing with in a “heavyhanded” manner with no input from his constituents.
“I believe my responsibility is to represent my constituents in the things they find important, and in terms of (the carbon tax and the grain freight issues) they directly impact a large section of my riding,” he said. “The main issue I hear as I’m going around the riding is that we need to get a change in government as soon as possible ... they didn’t vote to support it and I think the fears that they’ve had that this government is going to be deaf to the concerns of Western Canada are being realized.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Anderson is working on some international issues related to his position on the Subcommittee on International Human Rights in an effort to find solutions for the refugee situations in Myanmar and Syria and keeping an eye on the treatment of minority groups in Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.
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Benson has been focused on the lack of in-person service in the city for Canada Revenue Agency and Immigration Canada, which she says makes it very difficult for her constituents to get their questions answered properly.
“I think what some people don’t realize is, particularly with the Canada child benefit, when you get wrong answers or you can’t get service we’ve had people cut off from that benefit, lose their housing and can’t pay their utilities,” she said.
Because she represents a constituency with a lower median income, her priority is to make life as affordable as possible. She is working to make the government move on more initiatives, including exploring the idea of universal pharmacare.
“I feel like there are lots of conversations, lots of consultation, there’s lots of talking about things, but for the folks in my riding I want to see action,” she said.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Benson is monitoring the National Housing Strategy, seeing a crisis in the market for good, safe and affordable housing. She said she doesn’t feel that the Liberal government is rolling out its investment soon enough, which is critical for provinces such as Saskatchewan that had tough provincial budgets.
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As the shadow minister for transportation, Block is focused on finding the best possible outcome for Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act. It can “greatly affect” farmers in Saskatchewan — especially with the backlog of grain shipments that has left them for months without payment for their product, she said.
“We definitely understood there was a need to review the act back in the previous Parliament, so this would have been an initiation under the previous government,” she said. “We actually didn’t think the legislation in place needed to be changed but the current government did, and out of the introduction of that bill we started to hear stakeholders and constituents — not only in the riding but across the country — that this bill was going to create problems.”
She has also been working to find solutions to concerns about changes in Bill C-69, which she says will hit Saskatchewan hardest when it comes to the Navigation Protection Act. Block said the changes will make it more difficult for urban and rural municipalities to implement infrastructure projects near waterways.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Block also has some personal projects on the go through her membership with the parliamentary pro-life caucus and the caucus focusing on freedom of religion and beliefs. She also has international obligations to fulfil through her position on inter-parliamentary groups partnered with Ireland, Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States.
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Falk was elected to her position during a byelection in December, so she has some catching up to do. Currently in the midst of setting up her Lloydminster office, she said she is also working with constituents to determine what issues to tackle on the Hill.
She said residents have brought a few issues to her attention including the federal tax hikes, and how those dollars are spent. She said a particularly sore spot is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island.
“He went illegally, the (ethics) commissioner said,” Falk said. “And he spent $200,000 of taxpayers’ money — illegally. He should have to pay that back.”
Falk said her constituents are also coming to her with economic issues, especially the production and transport of oil products — which are plentiful in her riding. She said they are also opposed to the Canada Summer Jobs Program decision to not fund organizations that refused to sign an attestation supporting the right to access to abortion.
WHAT’S NEXT?
After setting up her offices, she plans to meet as many of her constituents as possible, even in the smaller centres, which she says tend to get overlooked.
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As Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Goodale has extra priorities on his plate, but said he is still focused on representing his constituents on issues that matter to them.
Goodale is working on employment and economic growth in Saskatchewan by using government initiatives to invest money into infrastructure projects like public transportation, water and sewer upgrades, building and updating recreational and cultural facilities and providing a special allotment to rural and remote communities.
“We’ve started with many of them already,” he said. “Some of them are underway, some are still in the planning stages and they have strong support from local governments and municipalities ... It’s a very popular program and I want to make sure it delivers the results for Saskatchewan.”
Goodale is also dedicated to ensuring the supercluster investment into the province’s pulse industry rolls out smoothly. He would like to see construction of pipelines get underway and the ironing out of international trade issues that affect steel manufacturing and the export of canola and pulse crops.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Goodale has his eye on one big set of projects he says he is “extremely interested in for Saskatchewan’s future.” He says the projects focus on how to build infrastructure that can manage, store and use water effectively to battle droughts and floods as the climate changes.
With a riding based strongly in agriculture, Hoback’s focus is on trade and transportation. His top priority is pushing through the final signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and getting it through the House of Commons to guarantee a trade advantage for agriculture producers by opening access to Asian Pacific countries before the United States can get a foot in the door.
Hoback said the grain backlog should have a positive outcome if Bill C-49 is passed with the amendments made in the Senate.
“I’ve got a lot of farmers sitting on grain that were contracted out to be shipped last January, last November ... we’ve had very, very poor rail service,” he said. “We have ships sitting out on the West Coast, grain sitting in bins of farmers, and when they don’t ship their grain they don’t get paid and ... it creates a domino effect throughout the whole economy in my riding.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Hoback said he is hearing concerns and criticism from his constituents on the marijuana legalization plan. Though he says his party has no ability to stop legalization, he would like the government to address some of the concerns — especially how it will affect border crossings into the U.S.
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Representing the largest riding in Saskatchewan geographically, Jolibois has a lot on her plate. Closest to her heart is her private member’s bill aiming to name June 21 National Indigenous Peoples Day and make it a statutory holiday.
She also has a list of issues affecting her riding, including access to clean water on reserves, the Indigenous youth suicide crisis, lack of affordable housing, NAFTA negotiations — especially how they relate to uranium exports — pension fairness and universal pharmacare.
“Too many folks in the riding have to make the choice between paying rent, buying food or paying for their medication,” she said, “and it’s really significant that even though the Liberals are initiating another study about bringing in universal pharmacare ... when the committee has already recommended it, but Prime Minister Trudeau is taking different angle again — taking it away from the residents.”
She wants to bring Métis considerations to light, paying particularly close attention to compensation for the Sixties Scoop and residential schools and the federal funding limitations for Métis education.
WHAT’S NEXT?
With the spring thaw taking place, she is worried about flooding in certain communities. As spring turns to summer, that worry will turn from flooding to fires. Jolibois said she is already working on a plan to guarantee funding from the provincial and federal levels if these events happen.
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Kitchen’s top focus is on the federal carbon tax plan. He says the model set out by the federal government is not the right fit for Saskatchewan.
“There is no credit being given to our farmers ... and the great stewardship our farmers do in their land management,” he explained. “It’s a tremendous asset in sequestering carbon into the ground and there is no credit that is given at all for that aspect of it.”
Advancing trade in his riding is also a priority. The oil and agriculture industries play a central role, so Kitchen is arguing for the completion of the pipeline and to hold CP and CN accountable for the grain backlog.
Kitchen said he has found it helpful to host on-on-one meetings with other MPs to share the views of his constituents and help them understand the cultural and economic differences Saskatchewan faces on these issues.
WHAT’S NEXT?
As a member of the Veteran’s Affairs Committee and the deputy shadow minister for youth, sport and persons with disabilities, he said he has a few more priorities on the go that affect all of Canada.
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Lukiwski take a two-pronged approach: putting his voice behind legislative issues in Ottawa and helping his constituents navigate the bureaucracy of federal offices like the CRA, Veterans Affairs and Immigration.
“These issues that local constituents have, which may not ever appear in the newspaper or on a high-priority list, but they are still vitally important at a local level,” he said. “Those are the types of things that turn my crank, that’s what really motivates me on a daily basis — the ability from time to time to actually help someone.”
Lukiwski said he has heard a lot from his constituents about the Canada Summer Jobs Program, which he said has been “completely mishandled.” They have also raised concerns about the new firearm legislation and the halting of pipeline projects.
WHAT’S NEXT?
When summer begins Lukiwski will be heavily focused on his reelection campaign. Beyond that, he said he will meet as many people as possible and hear the concerns they have before the next session of Parliament in September.
We have ... grain sitting in bins of farmers, and when they don’t ship their grain they don’t get paid and ... it creates a domino effect throughout the whole economy.
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As the leader of the Official Opposition, Scheer’s main priority is holding the Liberal government to account. He said that doesn’t mean he isn’t still working on problems raised by his constituents.
Scheer said his local priorities represent a mix of urban and rural concerns. Urban residents want answers about pipelines — especially as Evraz Steel is a large employer in the city — and rural constituents are worried about the grain backlog. Both have approached him with issues regarding the carbon tax, he said.
“It’s also recognizing what some of the economic engines of our cities are, and the energy sector employs a lot of people in Regina, and as I mentioned Evraz Steel being a very large private sector employer in Regina — it’s essential that Saskatchewan members of Parliament are standing up for that,” he said.
As leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Scheer said he has also been looking into more national issues that may not noticeably affect Saskatchewan. He said he never forgets that his first level of accountability is to the citizens in his own riding.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Scheer said he has his eye on a few local issues, such as the water quality of the Qu’Appelle Valley lakes, flooding concerns near Wynyard and the grain backlog, he is particularly focused on the upcoming federal election.
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Trost said he is focused on “basic constituency work” that centres around helping people navigate any issues they face with the government. He most commonly sees university students who need help navigating immigration rules and getting or renewing a visa, he said.
“Unless you tend to be the front bench, you don’t get a lot of opportunity to work for your constituents in Ottawa,” he said. “Because that’s where you can actually make certain accomplishments, you can add your voice to efforts that are already going through the house ... but I think I’m like most people who actually want to get things done.”
Constituents’ issues dealing more in legislation tend to be news driven, so lately they have been approaching him on the pipeline issue, he said.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Having recently lost the Conservative nomination to run in the next federal election to Sask. Party MLA Corey Tochor, Trost said his next order of business is to do the best he can as he serves out his term as an MP. As the vice-chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, he said he will likely make a few journeys south to help tackle issues that arise in NAFTA negotiations.
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Wagantall said one of the main concerns in her riding this session was the Canada Summer Jobs Program. Her constituents disagreed with it and seven local organizations were left without funding because they refused to sign the attestation supporting access for abortions, she said.
The new firearms legislation is also a concern, she added.
“What they’ve come up with for legislation, the term ‘gang ’ is not mentioned in there anywhere as far as fighting against that type of crime or against illegal purchasing of guns,” she said. “It’s all basically legislation, again, that only impacts law-abiding people who then will be facing more red tape.”
Wagantall supports Motion 167, brought to the floor by Alberta MP Shannon Stubs. It calls for a rural crime assessment to help provide recommendations to improve rural policing and lower rural crime rates.
WHAT’S NEXT?
As the deputy shadow minister for Veterans Affairs, Wagantall said she is also working to tackle the issue of the longtime use of methlaquin in the air force, which caused severe long-term side effects for some. Though its use was discontinued, Wagantall wants those who took the drug to be informed of the effect it may have had on their brains and help them get coverage for treatment.
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Waugh said he is heavily invested in making sure opinions from Saskatoon — Grasswood make it to Ottawa while also making sure he brings some of Ottawa — in the form of grants — back to his constituency.
The grants help fund repairs and educational programs for organizations in his riding. Waugh said he is dedicated to ensuring people know this money is available and readily helps applicants.
“We’re heavy on getting our people together to say, ‘Look, do you need that ramp? Do you need a lift?’ So we’ve reached out with a number of our groups on that, just to inform them that this is available,” he said.
As a member of the Indigenous Affairs committee, Waugh is also focused on improving First Nation education. He said he is working on a motion to study reserves across Canada and ensure the right teachers are hired and find ways to improve graduation rates.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Waugh said he would like to see a study of how Canada deals with Lyme disease and find way the health-care system can better support Lyme patients. From speaking with patients, it seems the problem is “mushrooming ” and he wants more support so they aren’t forced to spend massive amounts of money just to get a proper diagnosis, he said.
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Weir said he is focused on universal pharmacare, fighting for Saskatchewan’s fair share of federal transit funds and finding a carbon pricing scheme that works for the province and doesn’t displace any industries.
“Our country is the only one that has a universal health-care program without universal pharmacare,” he said. “Of course, in Saskatchewan we are very proud to have pioneered medicare, but it’s incomplete — the Tommy Douglas vision for medicare was always that it would ultimately include prescription drugs.”
With the loss of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company bus service, investment in public transportation is needed more than ever, he said. The federal funding model favours ridership rates rather than per capita dollars, so Saskatchewan gets less than its fair share. He wants to change that.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Weir was suspended from his duties as an NDP MP in February, so the party could investigate allegations of harassment against him. The investigation upheld one claim of harassment and three claims of sexual harassment. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Weir “failed to read non-verbal cues in social settings” and that his behaviour “resulted in significant negative impacts to the complainants.” It also found Weir stopped the advances once told they were unwanted.
Weir was originally set to be reinstated to his position if he worked through what Singh referred to as a “rehabilitative approach,” but on May 2, he was officially expelled from the NDP caucus for commenting publicly on the misconduct investigation.