The 11 Reform MPs from Saskatchewan and Manitoba have banded together to try to raise the profile of prairie issues in Parliament and inside the Reform caucus.
“It is very competitive down here,” Manitoba MP and caucus co-chair Inky Mark said last week in Ottawa. “There are some issues that are important for our area and we want to be sure they have a profile.”
The Dauphin-Swan River rookie MP said the Canadian Wheat Board, transportation issues, the fight against gun registration and a lobby for more money for rural highways will be among the issues promoted by the group.
Read Also
Supreme Court gives thumbs-up emoji case the thumbs down
Saskatchewan farmer wanted to appeal the court decision that a thumbs-up emoji served as a signature to a grain delivery contract.
They will use MP statements in the House of Commons, Question Period and private members’ bills to promote their causes.
“These are important issues where we come from and our voters want to know that we are raising issues here that are important to them,” said the MP.
The eight Saskatchewan and three Manitoba Reform MPs quickly discovered when Parliament opened that MPs have limited time in the Commons to speak about their favorite issues.
National issues a priority
Even within full caucus, where decisions are made about which five questions Reform will ask that day in the Commons Question Period, they found issues from other regions or so-called “national issues” such as unity often won the struggle for space and profile in the party assault on the government.
The Manitoba-Saskatchewan caucus was formed to co-ordinate their efforts and to lobby inside the caucus for recognition.
In the last Parliament, Reform rarely gave a high profile to agricultural issues even though the party represented most of the rural western seats.
This time, western MPs hope to change that. Before the Commons opened caucus adviser Rick Anderson said agriculture would play a greater role in Reform politics.
Mark said the eastern prairie MPs also will try to organize a winter meeting with politicians from northern tier border American states to look for “common ground” with the Americans on issues of agriculture and trade.
