Archive for April, 2013

Last week, my colleague James Bezan (Conservative MP from Manitoba) introduced Private Member’s Bill C-478, the Respecting Families of Murdered and Brutalized Persons Act.

This legislation would strengthen the criminal justice system by restricting parole eligibility for some violent murderers. This bill concerns murders that occur in the context of a kidnapping, abduction or sexual offence committed against the murder victim. Under these circumstances, offenders would not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years. C-478 will also give a judge the discretion to replace the current 25 year parole ineligibility with a longer period of up to 40 years.

These extra 15 years should give families more peace before they have to relive the trauma and confront their loved one’s murderer at a parole hearing.

Even though C-478 is not a government bill, the proposed legislation is in keeping with the Conservative’s Plan for Safe Streets and Communities. This Plan focuses on tackling crime, victims’ rights, and fair and efficient justice, all of which are strengthened by this bill.

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.

One of the tasks that MP offices do on a regular basis is answer correspondence. We get everything from dense, 30 page briefs (dealing with supposed faults of the government) to short one line e-mails expressing opinions on the issue of the day.

While we try to do our best with every piece of correspondence, there are a few things that you can do to help us do our job.

First be clear: Know what you are writing about and express it in a few short paragraphs.  When our office receives e-mails, it is helpful when two subjects are not mixed up in the same sentence or paragraph.

Second, be direct on your Ask: Do you want me to write back? Are you trying to get me to vote for or against a specific bill? Sometimes, incoming letters are so general in nature that we send them back, asking the writer for clarification.

These little tips will help us help you when you contact my office.

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.

The funeral of Margaret Thatcher has been in the news recently, and her legacy has been debated by friends and foes alike. But whether you loved or hated her, people agree: the decisions that she made as Prime Minister were driven by her deep conviction of what was right for her country.

Thatcher didn’t take an opinion poll to decide what her economic policy should be for Britain. She never used a focus group to decide to go to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

It’s fashionable to attack other politicians for being ideologues — criticizing people for having deep principled beliefs. But I think the world is better served by Thatcher-like politicians on both the left and the right. That is, politicians who are leaders, politicians who have ideals and try to implement them. Politics is at its best when it’s about choice and vision. The world needs more Margaret Thatchers.

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.

In late February, I introduced a motion in the House of Commons called Motion 431. M-431, if passed, will require Members of Parliament, who serve as the chairs on parliamentary committees, to be elected by their fellow MPs in the House of Commons.

This may not seem like a big deal. However, M-431 will allow a greater number of Members of Parliament to be more independent. In addition, the election of parliamentary committee chairs would also make MPs more accountable to each other.  The reason why NDP and Liberal MPs are supporting my motion (along with many of my fellow Conservatives,) is because we believe that Canadians elected us in a democratic fashion. And, as your representatives in Ottawa, we should operate that way in Parliament.

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.

It’s not just the general public who gets irritated with the Senate. Members of Parliament, who sit in the House of Commons, also have their gripes with the Senate too.

While the press gets worked up about spending irregularities, MPs are more concerned with some of the undemocratic practices of what we call the “Other Place.”

Consider two Private Members Bills: one helps libraries keep mailing costs down; the other concerns breast cancer screening. These two issues are not controversial. Both were supported by all political parties. Yet, these two pieces of legislation have been languishing in the Senate for over a year.

Has there been a heated debate over either of these two bills?  Was there something controversial in either bill that was missed by the House of Commons? In both cases, the answer is no.  MPs in the House of Commons are accountable to the Canadian people. When MPs pass legislation, Senators need to take action–not sit on a bill until it dies.

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.