Year in Review – Bow River Federal Riding

By Martin Shields MP Bow River

The year 2020 is FINALLY coming to a close. For many people in our riding, it’s been a very tough, unusual and stressful year.

The pandemic and the lockdown have been an enormous burden on our mental and physical health. We have seen huge numbers of Canadians lose their jobs. Businesses have shut down in our riding and across the country. Students have missed out on stretches of the school year and haven’t been able to see their friends. Isolation has taken its toll. 

Despite the enormous challenges this year, I believe our agriculture sector and essential workers delivered big time for us. Our ag producers had a fantastic harvest, which was a just reward for working so hard to keep food on our plates and maintain the integrity of our supply chain. Essential, medical and frontline workers continued reporting to work through the lockdown and did a fantastic job and deserve our sincere thanks.

From the time the lockdowns first started last March, I have received thousands of communications from concerned constituents. Many needed help accessing benefits. My staff and I were able to point many people in the right direction and get them the help they needed. Unfortunately, some fell through the gaps in the government’s response measures and were unable to qualify. Closing these gaps in the Liberal response has been a principal focus for me and my Opposition colleagues.

A common trend throughout the government’s response to the pandemic has been a lack of understanding about what’s happening in the real world. There were countless oversights and policy failures throughout the past year, many of which I heard about from constituents of our riding. I voiced concerns about these failures in the House of Commons at every opportunity. My colleagues and I told the Prime Minister loud and clear that he needed to make immediate changes to his programs. Instead of listening, the Liberals shut down and prorogued parliament. Looking back at the past year, it’s deeply troubling how far Justin Trudeau’s government has gone in enacting undemocratic policies. Democracy and freedom must be upheld – especially during a pandemic. We have all had to live with some restrictions during this pandemic, but our charter rights like freedoms of speech and religion must not be cast aside.

While the pandemic has been the biggest source of debate on Parliament Hill, we have also dealt with many other contentious issues. China has been an increasing source of deep concern, and our party has been active in calling out the egregious behaviour of the Chinese Communist regime. Our country needs to do the right thing and stand up to China. We’ve also been dealing with Bills C-7 and C-6, which many of you have contacted me about. I greatly appreciate everyone sharing their views on these issues as we work to achieve the best possible outcomes for Canadians. 

There’s a lot more that’s happened this year than what I covered here, and I’m sure there will be whole books written on 2020. It’s been a hard year, and I know a lot of people who will takes years to fully make up what they lost over the past months. 

I know Christmas will be very different this year, but I wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas, and let’s all hope that we can look forward to a Happy New Year.