Patzer ready to resume work in Ottawa later this month
After participating in a hybrid parliamentary session to close out 2020, Cypress Hills Grasslands MP Jeremy Patzer is awaiting news on how Members of Parliament will be conducting their duties in the new year.
The end of the parliamentary session in December brought to an end an agreement politicians had for a hybrid sitting of Parliament which
allowed them to safely conduct government sessions during the pandemic. However, all MPS are waiting to see the rules under which the upcoming parliamentary session will be held.
“So we’re waiting to see what they’re going to come up with for January 25, if it’s an all virtual, if it returns to the hybrid sitting that we had before, if there’s some changes to it. They’ve been looking at an app for voting that’s got a facial recognition software in it. I’ve seen the trial version of it but I haven’t received any updates yet for a full version, so we’ll see what they’re going to do with that.”
Next week Patzer is anticipating to jump right back into his parliamentary duties. As a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, that committee is in the midst of a forestry study, but they are also looking into things like the clean fuel standard and the impact it will have on industry. They will also be looking at the new Carbon Tax rates that were announced on the very last day of parliament in December, which will result in carbon pricing going up to $170 per tonne by 2030.
The COVID-19 issue will remain a heightened priority, especially questioning the Liberal government on some of their COVID relief spending.
“We’re starting to see some interesting things coming out with some of the COVID relief programs. Some of these foreign companies that are receiving Canadian taxpayer dollars when their own governments have programs in place to support them already. So there’s some issues with some of the funding programs like that that we’ll definitely be looking at as well.”
Locally, Patzer pointed to growing concerns over the Carbon Tax as a main concern across the Southwest.
“A lot of frustration with the Carbon Tax, especially as we saw the numbers that came out indicating that there’s been over $450 million of funds that haven’t been paid back out for a tax that’s supposed to be revenue neutral. The fact that there’s that much money sitting in the government coffers is alarming and we need to find an answer as to why the government hasn’t been transparent as to why that money hasn’t come out. That has been a big frustration for a lot of people.”
“When people see that there’s other foreign companies getting money from Canadian taxpayer dollars for COVID relief, that’s been a big issue.”
He also noted the federal government’s requirement to produce a negative COVID test before travellers fly back to Canada is creating a lot of problems for people who are trying to return to the country. The requirement is also impacting temporary foreign workers who work in greenhouses across the country, as they are having difficulty making the necessary arrangements and thus creating shortages for companies who rely on these workers.