Archive for September, 2005

Gophers, (yes those furry pests), demonstrate to me what is wrong with the way politics and government is run in this country. How, you may ask? Let me explain.

For nine years, Leon Benoit (a Conservative MP from Alberta) has been trying to get the government to change the regulations for gopher poison. All he wants to do is have the government make a 2 per cent solution of strychnine directly available to farmers, so that the poison for killing gophers is effective and actually works. (Current mixtures are not as effective).

No big deal, right? Farmers are losing up to $200 million/year to gophers, so let’s figure out a way to deal with the little pests.

Not so simple. MPs from Toronto say not to worry, and one Bloc Quebecois MP even referred to the use of strychnine in Agatha Christie mystery novels as a reason not to change the regulations.

Now, I don’t have a problem with debating an issue, but why MPs from Toronto and Quebec should decide on how to deal with gophers on the Prairies is beyond me. Issues that effect local people should be decided by local people and should not be imposed from far away. We in Saskatchewan are responsible people; we should not have politicians from other regions of the country telling us how to farm.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament, and I welcome your feedback. Write or call my offices.

I don’t know if you saw the story in the newspaper. Joe Volpe, our federal minister of Immigration, spent almost $7,000 on 31 meals, and then charged it to taxpayers. (That’s over $220/meal!) His staff then rang up a $4,000 bill split over eight meals. ($500/meal of your money!)

So does this sort of thing go on all the time in Ottawa? Is it normal behavior? Is there really wild spending everywhere? Well, yes and no.

Yes, in that there are more: (useless) free trips, expensive meals, excessive expense accounts, and pointless spending then the public ever hear about. Yes, in that I’ve been to meetings in big, expensive boardrooms where there was extreme overstaffing. Twelve civil servants sat on one side of the table for two hours giving a briefing to MPs that one or at the most two bureaucrats could have presented.

No, in that many MPs don’t behave in such reckless manner. Some MPs don’t believe that the taxpayer is there to provide for their every want and need. In fact, I once watched one MP (Jason Kenny) almost single handedly stop a budget increase that would have cost taxpayers about $3 million/year. He did this even though some of the money would have come to his office budget. Principle was more important than quick cash.

There are good MPs and bad MPs from all parties when it comes to handling tax dollars. Unfortunately, my experience in Ottawa has taught me there are quite a few of the latter and not enough of the former.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament, and I welcome your feedback. Write or call my offices.

One hundred years as a province. Even though our history has been relatively short compared to other regions, we have a lot of blessings to be thankful for in Saskatchewan.

What do I mean by blessings? Well, of course, I think of our great scenery, majestic lakes, wide plains and abundant resources. But I also mean our people. Specifically, I think of three groups who have contributed so much to Saskatchewan over the last century.

First, our veterans are a great blessing. Both those living and those who have passed on gave a lot for this province. They are a blessing because they preserved our freedom.

Secondly, I think of all the volunteers who have built our communities: Our churches, our community organizations, local government and sports teams have all been run by volunteers in Saskatchewan. They are a great blessing because they have made our communities worth living in.

Finally, I think of the pioneers who built and settled Saskatchewan. They came from dozens of different nations. They transformed a land of prairie grass and bush into the place which we love. They made it our home.

So as you celebrate our centennial, take some time to count your blessings–and also say thank you to our veterans, volunteers and seniors for all they have done to make Saskatchewan what it is today.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament. Call my offices anytime, we welcome your feedback.

Generally I like to be right about things I predict, generally but not always. Some time ago I had sent out a mailer talking about how the price of gasoline and other fuels could double. I received some criticism for being alarmist and was not taken all that seriously. Unfortunately, with the price of gas going up every day my general point has been proved right.

So what should we do now? Fuel is a necessity and not a luxury in a province as big as ours, so the problem should not be ignored. First, we should NOT call for even HIGHER fuel prices and then encourage people to use public transportation as NDP leader Jack Layton, and Liberal environment minister Stephane Dion have done. People need their vehicles to get around Saskatchewan; you can’t hop a bus from Wakaw to Saskatoon just anytime. Saskatchewan isn’t Toronto.

The first positive thing to do is cut the tax on gas and diesel. The tax cut should not just be one or two cents either; it should be substantive and not just symbolic.

Secondly, the federal government should let Saskatchewan keep its own oil and gas revenue, just as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia are allowed to keep their revenue. (This would have been about $800 million in 2004.) Money from this fund plus the extra revenue the provincial government is receiving should go to the people of Saskatchewan. Tax cuts or a direct refund to residents would really help pay the higher energy bills. If every household in the province had an extra $2,000 it would really help fill up the tank of quite a few cars and trucks.

The plan I’ve laid out above is just a few basic ideas and more points could and should be added, (particularly for farmers and truckers). However, the point is the government does have the resources to deal with the problem should it choose to do so. Gas may be going up, but in a province that exports oil we should be benefiting and not suffering.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament, and I welcome your feedback. Write or call my offices.