Hopefully everyone had an enjoyable summer and travelled safely on our roads and highways. School is back in session and MP’s are back in Parliament September 17th.
I had the opportunity to meet many constituents over the summer at various Stampede and community events. Wherever I went in the riding constituents expressed frustration at many of the policies of the current federal government. Whether it was the uncertainty surrounding the legalization of marijuana, that there has been no headway addressing the issue of pipeline capacity, or a general lack of confidence in the investment community, all fingers pointed east to Ottawa.
There is renewed hope in our energy sector with prices increasing however new regulations and lack of access to market are driving investment south of the border. One Alberta-based company has, in less than three years, moved 90% of its production in Canada to 90% of its production now in North Dakota. When investment decisions like these are being made by Canadian companies, good paying jobs go south with those investments.
The second issue I heard constituents raise most often was the illegal border crossings from the U.S. The Federal government is attempting to paint anyone expressing concern about the thousands of immigrants crossing the border illegally as racist, however Albertans, and I believe the majority of Canadians, are very upset with the lack of transparency of a solution to the growing problem. The government needs to address this issue immediately as it has become a crisis. Our immigration shadow minister Hon. Michelle Rempel has been working tirelessly on this file all summer, including forcing the Parliamentary committee to meet during the summer. I can assure constituents the Official Opposition will continue to hold the government to account ensuring that a responsible solution is developed during this fall session.
The Finance Minister is also expected to provide an economic update during the fall session. Canadians can be assured a budgetary deficit will continue to hover around $20 billion, a far cry from the balanced budget in 2019 that the Prime Minister promised during the election campaign.
My office can be contacted at [email protected] or 403-299-6666.
