Archive for June, 2006

So. what do Members of Parliament do? They are supposed to represent their constituents, but how do they do this?

Most of what people see MPs do falls into two or three categories. First, people see Question Period, and other clips of debate in the House of Commons. Secondly, constituency work: The meet and greet at public forums, and other appearances in the riding are the most direct (and frequent) contact constituents have with their MP.

Members of Parliament do have other tasks, however. One of the most important is representing Canada abroad, advocating Canadian positions to diplomats and politicians in other countries around the world. We do this through a variety of methods.

One way is through inter-parliamentary associations. These are groups of elected officials who specifically reach out to politicians in other countries. For example, I am one of 12 MPs on the executive of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group. MPs on the executive are from all of the parties in the House of Commons. We are elected to the executive by our fellow MPs.

As an executive, we are tasked with lobbying and specifically connecting with American congressman and senators. We educate them about Canada by building personal relationships with legislators south of the border. We even had breakfast with the Honorable David Wilkins, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada last Thursday. I used the opportunity to bring up the need to remove remaining BSE-related trade restrictions between our two nations.

This is just one example of how MPs work to advance Canada’s interests through parliamentary associations. MPs from all of Canada’s national parties work together not as party representatives, but as Canadians first and foremost.

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

I’m actually writing this column while listening to a debate in the House of Commons about a private members bill on the Kyoto Accord. In essence, the bill calls for a plan to implement Kyoto 100 days after the passing of the bill. Now, all this sounds wonderful and marvelous, (everyone loves the Kyoto Accord, even though no one knows what it does), but it is about as practical as passing a law repealing gravity.

The effect of the bill would be a 40 per cent decrease in Canada’s emissions of greenhouse gases. This could be achieved if Canadians didn’t drive cars, and gave up a few basic industries, such as agriculture. But– in the real world, this is not going to happen.

Now, I’m not writing this column to scare people, or to imply that cars are going to be banned in Canada, or that farming will be illegal in a few years. I’m writing this column to make a point that I think most people instinctively understand. A lot of legislation, a lot of politics, a lot of the news about government, has absolutely no connection to reality. Sometimes politics is all about symbols and rhetoric.

Symbols can often be important because of what they communicate. But symbols that are disconnected from reality do more harm than good. They do harm by giving the impression that action is being taken when nothing is being done. Irrational symbolic gestures can also end up wasting huge sums of taxpayers’ money. (Remember the long-gun registry?)

So in the future, when you see something on the news about politics that seems too good to be true, or perhaps a little odd, take it with a big grain of salt. After being an MP for two years, I’m still amused by all of the baloney that I see in Ottawa. Amused by, but unfortunately, not surprised.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Humboldt. I welcome your feedback.

It’s the Oilers versus the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup finals, the end of the hockey season, right? Well, in the real world it is but in Parliament hockey season has started up again. (By the way GO OILERS, it’s been too many years since the last Cup.)

What do I mean the hockey season has started in Parliament again? Let me explain.

For the last four years, Saskatchewan MPs have been fighting to get federal tax collectors to provide the SJHL with tax fairness—and stop treating an amateur hockey player’s room and board allowance as taxable income. Revenue Canada assessed tax on the room and board allowance of the SJHL players, something that had not been done for years and years. (Only teams in Saskatchewan were assessed at the time, for some reason the Flin Flon Bombers, being in Manitoba were exempt.)

Last year, tired of fighting with bureaucrats, we got a bill passed in the House of Commons that exempted room and board allowances of not-for-profit teams like junior hockey. The bill passed, with the support of the NDP and BQ . However, the bill did not become law because it failed to clear the Senate before the election. So we’re at it again.

Hopefully, the necessary changes to the Income Tax Act will be done by next year, so the Broncos don’t have to fund-raise as much money. This little change in tax policy could save the team about $10,000 a year. Humboldt needs the Broncos, and the Broncos don’t need to be hassled by the tax man. It’s time for our hockey team to concentrate on going back and winning the Royal Bank Cup again.

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