LAKELAND – Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs has been named the Shadow Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
Stubbs told Lakeland This Week that she’s “ready for this role and I’m looking forward to it.”
She continued, “I’m looking forward to having a new challenge and certainly our leader, Erin O’Toole, has already given me some encouragement to be very strong and aggressive with the current (Minister of Public Safety) Bill Blair. As always, I’ll work cooperatively with him in areas where we have shared goals or where ever we can but I hope, as my work has demonstrated in the last five years, that I will also be a relentless advocate, call him out, and challenge him when I think they’re making the wrong decisions and going in the wrong direction and not serving Canadians well.”
O’Toole announced on Sept. 8 the 43 members of his shadow cabinet. Previously, Stubbs served two terms as shadow minister of natural resources under former Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer. She described her former position as a privilege.
“I was really grateful to be able to work in a portfolio so important to the people in the Lakeland and to our provinces,” she expressed.
The advocacy and work Stubbs did under her previous role that made her stand out to her colleagues and was among the reasons O’Toole approached her with the possibility of a new responsibility.
“I was one of the shadow ministers that constantly put our proposals and alternatives solutions. I worked really hard to do that so that was fulfilling to hear that there was an awareness for that,” she noted.
Her advocacy against rural crime was another aspect that made Stubbs stand out, which gives her a bit of experience as she steps into her new role.
When Stubbs spoke with O’Toole about taking on the shadow minister position, he specifically discussed Motion 167, which was a call to action to combat rural crime. It was passed unanimously in May 2018 and required the Standing Committee for Public Safety and National Security to investigate rural crime in Canada and make suggestions on the best way to combat it.
The report that was eventually released was a huge disappointment to Stubbs.
“It was a highlight of my first term to have the very comprehensive motion on rural crime unanimously passed in the House of Commons but then later to have the Liberal (Party) dominated committee delay it, play procedural tricks, limit the witnesses, limit the analysis, and then ultimately put out a report that blamed other jurisdictions and made no real concrete recommendations and suggested that other jurisdictions should do other work on their own. It was very frustrating and I heard that from constituents too.”
Combating rural crime will continue to be a focus for Stubbs.
“I will continue to try to get the federal government to recognize and prioritize the vulnerability, frustration, social, and economic costs of rural crimes to residents in the Lakeland but also all across the country,” she detailed. “I’ll continue to work on that in this new role, but I think it’s even wider than that. As Canada goes through its economic recovery, it will be essential for Canadians to have safety and security.”
As the new shadow minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, Stubbs will take some time getting familiar with the portfolio, which covers the RCMP and victim services, corrections and parole decisions, crime and terrorism, cybersecurity, first responders, among others.
The safety and security of Canadians will be the ‘main priority’ for Stubbs as she moves forward in the role.
“The conservative position is that the priority must be that law-abiding Canadians and victims of crime feel and are safe in their homes and safe on their streets… and that it’s Canada and Canadians that should be their priority to the federal government,” she stressed.
