The federal Conservatives’ omnibus bill raised several eyebrows as it pushed through a raft of changes last month, such as raising the eligibility age of Old Age Security, reforming the employment insurance system and overhauling environmental protection and fisheries laws.
Opposition parties did what they felt was their duty in fighting the changes tooth and nail, arguing that the Conservatives were throwing in everything but the kitchen sink and that the bill would gut environmental oversights, among other things. But the Conservative majority would see the bill pushed through. The fact that even a former Conservative minister was criticizing changes to the Fisheries Act said it all – there were many things in the omnibus bill that raised the cause for alarm.
The Town of St. Paul’s mayor also noted the omnibus bill came under scrutiny at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Saskatoon, with many raising objections to some of the proposed changes.
The mayor had his own bone to pick with the federal Conservatives, which he raised at last week’s town council meeting, about the government’s decision to discontinue providing funding for emergency planning to municipalities. He acknowledged the Conservatives are trying to cut spending, but worried that the financial burden for emergency planning would now fall to municipalities. Despite Westlock-St. Paul MP Brian Storseth’s assertions that he had tried to call to speak to town officials and the fire chief about the funding, the town CAO, mayor and fire chief all said they had not heard from the MP or managed to speak with him yet about the issue.
Well, this Tuesday will provide a chance for elected officials and members of the public to bring their questions of the federal government to a public forum.
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism minister Jason Kenney will be touring the Westlock-St. Paul riding this Tuesday and he and Storseth will be at a town hall talk in St. Paul this Tuesday afternoon. Kenney has been a colourful figure within the Conservative government, most recently raising eyebrows when he accidentally hit the ‘reply all’ button in an email that referred to Alberta’s deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk as an a-hole. Kenney also made headlines this past weekend; a former refugee attending a Conservative party barbecue in Edmonton confronted Kenney about the federal government’s cuts to refugee health care. Bashir Mohamed found himself hauled out and was reportedly then arrested for trying to interrupt the minister when Kenney was speaking.
Although you could fault his methods of being heard, one has to give Mohamed credit for pushing an issue about which he felt passionate to the forefront, and for holding the government’s representative to task. Apathy, after all, is boring.
Hopefully citizens attending Tuesday’s town hall will use the opportunity to ask meaningful questions of what Kenney, and his government, are doing and ask them about their vision of Canada and its future. A word to the wise, though - just don’t interrupt Kenney in the middle of his speech.
