Summer fun
By Martin Shields Member of Parliament Bow River Riding
Hello Bow River constituents! In the summer months when the House of Commons isn’t sitting, I have the opportunity to travel across the riding to visit with constituents, attend events and announcements, listen to opinions, and above all else – bask in the greatness of the Bow River riding and its people.
These past weeks have been nothing short of amazing. Seeing so many wonderful people for the first time in a long time has reminded me what we can accomplish together. For the first time in roughly two years, a strong majority of people are comfortable with returning to normal and I love to see it. Without getting into the politics of it all, I believe these past two years have contributed to a decline in wellbeing, mental health and overall happiness. So, you can imagine how great it is for me to see so many smiling faces as I walk in community parades, attend barbecues, pancake breakfasts, and rodeos. As I’m sure it’s a refreshing sight for you as well.
I attended the Strathmore Stampede where I had the opportunity to address the rodeo and chuckwagon crowd, as well as see my Martin Shields MP wagon tarp race around the track with driver Darcy Flad. It was a packed crowd the entire weekend!
On July 30 after the Strathmore Heritage Days Parade, the Bow River Constituency Association (our local EDA) put on a fantastic barbecue to raise money for the Strathmore Municipal Library. Thanks to everyone who donated for a hot dog – we managed to raise nearly $500.
To briefly update you on a few important topics:
Health Canada backed down from its ideological and irrational attack on Canadian agriculture by exempting ground beef and pork from a front-of-package warning label.
When I first became aware of this senseless, expensive campaign to mandate a health warning label on ground beef and pork I was shocked. I heard from several producers in my riding about the cost of implementing this label and how much it would increase prices for consumers. Canadians don’t need to be warned about the ground meat products they are purchasing at the stores. Canadians know that the beef and pork they buy are of the highest grade in the world.
I’m glad that together with my Conservative colleagues and I, along with the loud voices of Canadians like you, we were able to successfully put an end to this ideological campaign.
A few weeks ago, around 12 million Canadians were affected by a country-wide outage from Rogers Communications. Everything from cellphones to internet to debit machines were affected. This is unacceptable to Canadians whose phone bills are some of the highest in the world.
The lack of competition in the Canadian market for telecoms services has led to a monopoly by the big three companies (Rogers, Bell, Telus) and subsequent complacency in their service standards. Canadians deserve a better, more open market with choice in internet and phone providers.
I look forward to continuing seeing many of you in the coming weeks!
Be sure to follow me on social media and sign up for my e-newsletter to keep up with federal news and updates: Facebook (@MartinShieldsBowRiver), Twitter (@MartinBowRiver) and Instagram (@MartinShields_BowRiver).
Should you have a question or concern of a federal matter, please email my office (Martin.Shields@parl.gc.ca).