February 25th, 2013
One constitutional right in Canada is the freedom of religion. It doesn’t matter if you are Buddhist, Christian, Taoist or an atheist: Canadians believe your deepest, most cherished beliefs should be protected. We also believe that this is a universal human right and that the promotion of religious freedom should be a part of our foreign policy.
That’s why the Conservative government has created the Office of Religious Freedoms (inside of the Department of Foreign Affairs).
Specifically, this office will focus on advocacy, analysis, policy development and programming relating to: protecting and advocating on behalf of religious minorities under threat. In addition, this office will oppose religious hatred and intolerance while promoting Canadian values of pluralism and tolerance abroad.
Canadian foreign policy should be more than just promoting our economic values abroad. It should be about promoting moral values that we believe are universal to all peoples. Values like freedom of religion.
I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can reach my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. Feel free to drop by my two offices for a visit: Saskatoon (Monday to Friday) or Humboldt (Tuesday and Wednesday). I always appreciate your feedback.
February 18th, 2013
One of the reasons I support the expansion of Private Members’ Business in the House of Commons is my friend, Terrance Young, the MP for Oakville.
After a family tragedy some years ago, he became involved in issues around prescription drugs and suicides as a side effect of these drugs.
This is a serious issue. But like many serious issues, it is tough to get political parties to pay attention to it. It doesn’t garner votes and there are no economically important groups to promote the issue. If this issue is going to be taken up, it needs to be taken up by an individual MP.
In a four year Parliament, not all MPs get a chance to have legislation debated. Fortunately, Terrance’s motion to create an independent drug agency will be debated in the House of Commons because his number was high enough in the Private Members’ lottery. I will be voting for his motion.
I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can reach my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. Feel free to drop by my two offices for a visit: Saskatoon (Monday to Friday) or Humboldt (Tuesday and Wednesday). I always appreciate your feedback.
February 11th, 2013
Have you been following the dispute over federal electoral boundaries? The NDP, their allies in academia and at the StarPhoenix have been demanding the creation of urban-only federal ridings that exist solely inside the boundaries of Regina and Saskatoon. The Conservatives and our friends have been pushing back, demanding that Saskatchewan continue a tradition of connecting our large cities with the surrounding areas.
What is most telling about this debate is the assumption by the NDP that they can’t win votes outside of the two cities.
One reason Saskatchewan is dominated by Conservatives is because we have not written off any portion of the population. We have aggressively reached out to aboriginals, new Canadians, and residents of urban cores: groups not traditionally thought of as Conservative. Democracy works better when political parties work to reach all voters. If the NDP didn’t write off rural voters, perhaps they wouldn’t need special ridings to get elected.
I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can reach my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. Feel free to drop by my two offices for a visit: Saskatoon (Monday to Friday) or Humboldt (Tuesday and Wednesday). I always appreciate your feedback.
February 4th, 2013
One of the more contentious Private Members Bills’ last year was C-377. It allows unionized workers to see how their union dues are being spent. This was a bill that divided local and national union leadership.
In my riding, I had two local union reps who told me that they thought the bill was a good idea. And these local reps tried to make their unions as open and transparent as possible. I did, however, get representations from national and provincial unions: They were clear in their opposition to the bill. They did not want to open their books to their membership.
In the end, I sided with the local union reps and voted for Bill C-377, believing that transparency is important for union members. Accountability is one of the cornerstones of democracy. If a union is to be democratic it needs to be financially accountable to its members.
I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can reach my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. Feel free to drop by my two offices for a visit: Saskatoon (Monday to Friday) or Humboldt (Tuesday and Wednesday). I always appreciate your feedback.
