No doubt about it, the pandemic has provided no shortage of work in Parliament this year for Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Rosemarie Falk.
“It’s been an interesting year,” said Falk in her end of year interview with the News-Optimist. “I know a lot of people have been asking the highlight of the year, and we’ve had so much has gone literally since March when Canada ‘shut down.’”
She notes that Parliament worked throughout the summer with their COVID-19 committee, which was followed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proroguing Parliament for six weeks.
After getting back into the house in September, Falk says the Conservative opposition has been asking questions of the government, specifically on issues of COVID-19, testing, vaccines, and different tools the premiers can have in their toolbox for their provinces. As seniors critic Falk has also sought answers on seniors issues as well.
“It’s been busy,” said Falk. “We’re trying to get the answers that we need when we look at rapid testing for example. That was something the government didn’t even jump on at all until as an opposition as a whole, not just the official opposition, started asking questions of the government on that.”
Falk notes rapid testing is something available elsewhere in the world right now, and also pointed to concerns about the availability of vaccines in a timely manner.
“Some of our other countries in the world, our U.S. neighbours down south for example, they’ve had rapid testing and they’ve had it for quite a few months already. So if we’ve just looked at the track record of the federal Liberals, the assumption of them not being on the ball with vaccines is fair, especially when other countries are talking about it and administering it or close to administering the vaccine. So it was important for us to make sure that we got the answers that Canadians are asking and Canadians needed. And not only just everyday Canadians, but also the premiers because the premiers were asking questions of the federal government, not getting answers.”
She cited a desire by Canadians to return to normalcy.
“... We all want to get back to normal. Our small businesses need to get back to normal, our mental health needs us to get back to more of a normalcy. Our seniors ... I mean every person in society had been touched by this in some case. A vaccine and rapid testing are the tools that we need to be able to get to that normalcy that we need and our economy needs.
“Again the Liberals have a track record of saying one thing and doing another or saying that going to do something that’s not necessarily being a priority for them. It’s just so important that Canadians have access like our other countries, our other counterparts, and we look down south again for example — they have or are getting access to.”
Regarding the more transmissible strain of COVID-19 out of the United Kingdom that has made the news recently, Falk called for more communication and transparency from the government.
“The Trudeau Liberals need to be completely transparent and honest with Canadians but also be proactive in their questioning. There’s questions they need to answer like, for example, has Canada ever requested more information from the UK about this new variant strain? And if they have, what information is being provided? Are the current testing procedures that they have, for example, effective at identifying a new strain? There’s some of the things that the government, the Liberals, need to be on top of, and Canadians expect them to be seeking the answers to some of these questions.”
A big bombshell announcement from the prime minister this month was the news that he planned to hike the carbon tax in 2021 to $40 per tonne, up from $30, and to get it to $170 a tonne by 2030.
“You know, I am utterly disappointed that Justin Trudeau would, in the middle of a pandemic — because we’re not done the pandemic yet — increase taxes on Canadians. We already know, especially out here, of the carbon tax effects, especially on anyone who needs to travel, whether it’s for work ... whether it’s medical appointments, travelling, or even our food ... “
She cited the impacts to Canadians of bills and inflation already. The carbon tax increase has been described by some as part of a “great reset” by the Trudeau government in the wake of the pandemic, but Falk figures the hike was in the works long before the pandemic.
“I’ve had quite a few people bring this up to me and I would argue, this has always been the plan. He said this from day one of him taking office, just maybe in a different form. I mean, we look at the anti-energy policies that the Trudeau government has enforced and brought in. You have tanker bans, (Bill) C-48, (Bill) C-69, a carbon tax, and now the carbon tax going up again. I think it’s bad for investment, for investors to invest in our country.
“We have, and I know I sound like a broken record, but we have some of the strictest environmental regulations as it is and the highest ethical standards when it comes to our energy. And not just our energy, I mean this goes to our forestry — any type of natural resource. It just seems the Trudeau Liberals just want to keep it in the ground. I mean the world is going to continue using oil. People talk about electric cars; well, there still needs to be a lubricant in the working of a car, right? There still needs to be tires they’re all byproducts of oil right? It’s unfortunate that this is the direction he wants to go, and he wants to accelerate that when we have so many people especially in our area of Battlefords-Lloydminster or whether they are farmers working in the energy sector are impacted by bad policies. People just want to be able to work, get a paycheque, provide for their families and live life.
During this fall sitting, Falk has been active in her role as seniors critic. It’s a role that has put her in touch with stakeholders across Canada, and she notes there are far more issues to deal with beyond COVID-19.
“We need to look at where seniors were before the pandemic started and where they are coming out after this.” She points to issues such as fraud, services, and income security. “I’m absolutely honoured to be able to serve seniors in this capacity.”
Now, Parliament is in recess until late January and Falk expects COVID-19 to continue to dominate discussion, even after the pandemic ends.
It remains a minority government situation where the government could fall at any time. Speculation continues to swirl that Trudeau could decide to call a spring election. Regardless of what happens, Falk said her party would be ready.
“Who knows?” Falk said about the election talk. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we had an election, that being said, I’m ready to go every day and in anticipation that there will be one.”
