LAKELAND – There were a lot of changes for Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs in 2020.
New leadership for the Conservative Party saw Stubbs stepping into a new role and her priorities took a slight shift as a result.
“After our leadership election in the fall, I had no idea what would happen there and held no expectations, but I’ve been really grateful to have been appointed by our leader Erin O’Toole in the role of Shadow Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness,” she told Lakeland This Week. “I’ve just been very grateful to be in that position and trying to bring some focus to the issues of foreign interference and intervention in Canada, including threats to Canadians to their personal and national information security. I’ve also been trying to highlight gaps and challenges and support for victims of crime.”
Stubbs said she was thankful for her new role, which has fit well into her previous work in regards to rural crime. She tried to have conversations on the federal level about resourcing for frontline law enforcement and support staff, emphasizing the right of law-abiding Canadians, and increasing the support for victims of crime.
“I’m glad in that way to be able to continue that work that I had already started in this new rule.”
Like everyone else, the way she worked was changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of being in Ottawa for more than half the year, the MP has been working from home, which has "really brought home the challenges in rural Internet connectivity."
Her support staff has also switched to assisting people over the phone or through email, with her office doors being shut to in-person meetings.
“Throughout all of these many months, we have been closed to walk-in traffic for some time, but I would say that while the walk-in traffic has been a little limited, the number of calls and emails have increased exponentially because people have needed so much assistance with clarification with programs, services, and support,” she said, adding constituents haven’t been able to keep up with the constantly changing information during the past year.
“Every time the government would make an announcement or change a decision, the people needed help, so we’ve been there every step of the way and actually, in recent months, it seems that people really wanted to be heard and for some people who are lonely or isolated, frankly, I think they will call our office just to have a voice on the other end of the line. That’s been challenging in our office, and we continue to work hard to provide the services and support that people in Lakeland need.”
A concern that Stubbs holds while looking back on 2020 is the economic damage that she feels was a result of government decisions and restrictions.
“I think it’s been a pivotal year that’s really enforced the importance of trust and confidence in elected officials, representatives, policy developers, media, and public health experts. I certainly have heard, loud and clear, scepticism, confusion, and questioning,” she noted. “It’s brought home to me how important it is for governments to be transparent, accountable, and open in their decision making and their rationale for the decision making, and why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
When it comes to 2021 and beyond, Stubbs stressed the importance of all levels of government to chart out a course for the future.
Stubbs believes the Federal Liberals need to fix the federal budget, which she described as a catastrophe.
“What I worry about is that the Liberals aren’t providing a road map back to balanced spending, and they're spending hundreds of millions of dollars outside of the country,” she stated. “What I worry about is, I just see the Liberals using the pandemic as a launching point to further their economic agenda, which is one of high taxes, bigger government and red tape, obliterating the energy sector, and focusing on cities.”
Getting finances back on track, focusing on job creation, and a sustainable and thriving economy are some of Stubbs’ hopes for the future.
When it comes to her role as Shadow Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, she plans to continue to focus on pushing the federal government to take real measures to combat rural crime, continue to stand up for law-abiding firearm owners, and she will be calling for measures to crack down on organized crime and gang activity.
