Michael Potestio / Kamloops This Week
With the final sitting of the 42nd Parliament underway this week and an election set for Oct. 21, Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod knows her Conservative party needs to start conveying its solutions to Canadians.
“Over the next year, it’s absolutely our job to tell Canadians how we think we could do a better job,” McLeod said.
She said the goal of the remaining 14 weeks in the House will be spent continuing to hold the Liberal government to account, noting increased spending by the Liberal government is one of the official opposition’s key priorities.
“Their spending’s out of control,” McLeod said. “They promised a balanced budget, but what we know more importantly is it will mean higher taxes for tomorrow.”
International relations is another area of concern for the Conservatives, McLeod said, citing the rift with China over Canada’s detainment of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the U.S., which led the Asian superpower to detain two Canadians.
“We have an important trading relationship with China and there was a complete diplomatic mess-up over the last number of days,” she said.
McLeod chastised the government for not getting a softwood lumber agreement done with the U.S. and for the fact aluminum tariffs remain in place.
The three-term MP also pointed to the government’s inability to construct the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
“They’ve had three years and they haven’t built an inch of pipeline,” she said.
She said the details of the Conservatives’ solutions to issues raised in the final Parliament will come out over the coming months as the election campaign ramps up.
As the party’s Indigenous Affairs critic, McLeod has a number of priorities, including ensuring proposed child welfare legislation the government has yet to table is a positive piece of legislation.
“That is an important issue for the Conservatives,” McLeod said.
With the Centre Block in the House of Commons undergoing decade-long renovations, Canada’s 338 MPs are meeting in their temporary home, the West Block.
