Archive for October, 2005

I continue to work with my fellow Conservative MPs on energy issues. This is an immense subject area—one that covers more than just gasoline prices and home heating costs, two issues that have been prominent in the news lately. Last week, I had the opportunity to learn a bit more about ethanol and biodiesel, two fuels which have particular relevance to Saskatchewan.

Ethanol has been talked up a lot in the past but, has not always quite delivered everything that had been promised. Ethanol is more economical now, for the following reasons:

First, the price of oil is over $60 U.S. per barrel and not the $20 that it had been only a few years ago. Since ethanol is competitive at $40 per barrel (roughly), it is now a more economical fuel.

Secondly, the United States’ new energy bill mandates more ethanol in American gasoline. This will drive up demand and create a spill over effect in Canada, feeding demand for ethanol here as well.

Third: provincial governments in Canada, most recently in Ontario, have mandated more ethanol, thus increasing local demand. (Most new vehicles run most efficiently with a 10% ethanol blend.)

These three factors combined with the location of the prairies as a low cost producer of ethanol– should provide some much needed development in our province. A successful ethanol industry may well provide better returns for farmers and a new source of employment in rural Saskatchewan. In addition, biodiesel production will provide a new market for growers of canola and other oilseeds.

Ethanol and biodiesel could be one component of a successful energy policy for Canada—and it’s another area where Saskatchewan can shine if we’re prepared to take advantage of the factors which make so-called “green fuels” more economical.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament. I welcome your feedback. Contact my offices anytime.

I don’t know how many of you watch Question Period in the House of Commons. If you do, you may have noticed in the last couple of weeks that a lot of questions are being asked why the Liberals are soft on crime. Liberal loopholes in the law are putting the lives of Canadians at risk—and are also a slap in the face to crime victims.

A terrible example of this: A Saskatchewan man, Dean Edmondson, was convicted of sexual assault after he and two other men tried to have sex with a 12 year-old girl in 2001. Edmondson received no jail time—he was sentenced to house arrest. Part of the reason why this man received house arrest was because he believed the girl to be 14 years of age.

In essence, Canada’s low age of consent laws contributed to a man getting house arrest for sexually assaulting a 12 year old girl.

The Conservative Party is committed to closing loopholes in the law that provide house arrest for violent crimes. House arrest should not be provided to criminals convicted of violent crimes, especially crimes committed against children.

The Conservatives are also trying to get Parliament to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16.

It’s time Canada got tough on crime. It is inexcusable that a 12 year old girl was victimized by these men and again, a second time by our nation’s “justice” system.

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

It’s been awhile since I wrote about the firearms program, so I thought I’d give everyone a few bits of information to chew on, courtesy of my good friend Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville.

Did you know?

• That five million firearms in the registry still need to be “verified” in accordance with police demands for accuracy.
• There are more than three million blank and unknown entries on gun registry certificates that have been issued.
• 375,000 firearms brought into Canada by foreign visitors have never been entered in the registry to determine if they left Canada.
• That 6.9 million registration certificates have been issued without owner’s names.

Have you ever wondered why?

• Saskatchewan’s murder rate has increased from 1.28 to 3.9 per 100,000 people from 1999 to 2004.
• Prohibited guns cannot be taken to shooting ranges but can be taken to gun shows.
• 70 years of registering legally owned handguns hasn’t kept handguns out of the hands of criminals.
• Firearms imported into Canada need special United Nations serial numbers, to keep weapons from being exported to Africa.

The National Long gun registry has cost $2 Billion. Have we gotten anything useful from the program? I think you “no” my answer to that question.

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

It’s a rare occasion that causes one to feel both pleasure and sorrow. Yet, I experienced one such occasion just a few days ago on Parliament Hill. I was able to meet the families of the four RCMP officers who died in the line of duty at a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alberta on March 3rd.

The meeting was a pleasure because their families were such wonderful people. The relatives of the four slain officers were gracious and kind–and reflected the Canadian values of faith and family.

It was a sorrow because of the loss of the four officers; four young men who gave their lives to protect you and me. Four men who had sworn to “Uphold the Right”. Four men who will never again share time with those whom they loved.

To honour these officers, and to call for tougher sentences (so that this sacrifice need not be repeated), the families have made a simple request. They are asking that you turn on the lights on your porch or in front of your house from 8-10 pm on the third day of every month. Please do this on November 3rd, December 3rd, and so on through March 3rd, the anniversary of the shooting. Please also ask your friends and neighbours to do the same.

Constables Peter Schiemann, Anthony Gordon, Leo Johnston and Brock Myrol made the ultimate sacrifice to serve their fellow citizens. These RCMP officers and their families should not be forgotten. Their deaths should not be in vain.

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