COLUMN: Report from the Legislature – Action and excitement in politics

The past month at the Manitoba Legislature has been buzzing with action and excitement as we completed the first full year with many newly elected MLAs, including myself. This meant that we saw the first NDP budget reluctantly pass royal assent together with several first-time bills. This month gave many of us as critics to a government department the opportunity to ask questions and analyse the workings of their first budget and how that will affect Manitobans in the years to come. Along with the new and exciting legislative experiences there has been a lot of political action happening across our province, our country, and North America. We saw surprising shifts in political direction in provinces across our country and a monumental presidential election in the United States. Right here in Manitoba, we have a leadership race for our Progressive Conservative Party which is delivering the hope and excitement we have all been waiting for.

As the critic for Transportation and Infrastructure I was lucky enough to have had three days in committee of estimates where I was given the opportunity to question the minister about her department related to the budget. Although it was a new and exciting experience for me it shed light on the discouraging facts that the budget for infrastructure has been cut by $157 million and the effects are starting to be realized. We discovered that there is far less money for emergency services, flood mitigation, and most importantly to many Manitobans, our highways and roads. I will continue to highlight the importance of infrastructure investment to the minister and government with hope that next year’s budget will recognize the negative effects of budget cuts in infrastructure.

This past session of the legislature has been exciting for many of the newly elected MLAs but there is more excitement than that across not only our country, but we have seen big changes in the United States with the election of Donald Trump as president in their election last week. Similarly to what we saw in provinces like B.C. and Saskatchewan there is a strong desire to have common sense conservatives leading our government through what have been turbulent economic times. This strong support for conservative leadership is showing the importance of fiscal responsibility and economic strength for voters across North America.

The conservative trend is giving us Manitoba Progressive Conservatives excitement and hope for our leadership selection. We have two recognizable candidates vying for the leadership position. Both candidates recently kicked things off with a meet and greet event at the Delta Hotel in Winnipeg, giving voters the opportunity to ask questions and hear their vision for the party as well as our province. I encourage all conservatives in Southeast Manitoba to renew their party membership to have the opportunity to choose the next leader and premier of Manitoba. All memberships need to be purchased by the end of February to have a chance to vote in April. I’m excited that with new charismatic leadership we can keep the conservative momentum we are seeing elsewhere continue into Manitoba. I look forward to serving in a government that understands the importance of common sense and the economy rather than the dedication to socialist ideology that we are seeing from the current NDP.

I am looking forward to the next few weeks of session at the legislature following next week’s throne speech. I’m hopeful that the NDP will set forward a vision more focused on what is important to Manitoban’s and less on ideology and division. I will be hosting a Christmas open house event at the La Verendrye constituency office in Grunthal on Dec. 13 from 3 to 6 p.m. Mark it in your calendars to come out and meet me or come for baking and great conversations.