StettlerLocal.com June 2, 2021 @ 12:40
MP Damien Kurek hosted a ZOOM Town Hall on June 2nd at 7pm where he addressed a variety of questions from constituents.
In opening remarks, Kurek spoke of the 215 children’s bodies found at a mass grave at the site of the former Kamloops residential school. Kurek stressed the importance of not hiding our history, despite it causing us shame or discomfort, and the need to learn from our history instead of pretending it didn’t happen.
Kurek commented on his optimistic feeling about the end of COVID lockdowns, and the gradual reopening of the province. His party is disappointed with how the Liberal government handled COVID, particularly the vaccine with both supply, and distribution.
In clarifying a recent public misunderstanding with Motion 118, Kurek said that he was aware of social media posts saying the motion was intended to suspend elections, and the democratic process. However, it was a non-binding motion from the Bloc Quebecois, warning the Trudeau Liberals against calling an election during a lockdown/pandemic as a political tool. The motion would, in no way, actually suspend the electoral process.
Kurek addressed concerns for the democratic process in regards to bill C-69 which was passed in parliament despite many of the provinces being against it, and with no real effort to consult the provinces. He said it was a reflection of the Prime Minister’s lack of concern for the democratic process.
“Democracy is still strong in this country.”
Other topics Kurek discussed:
Disappointment with the Federal government who had thrown their support behind two eastern Canadian pharmaceutical companies that were developing ways to treat COVID, but seemed to block a Calgary company that was further ahead in the process.
The Conservatives, as well as his own on-going monitoring, and inquiries into the aging Canada Weather infrastructure, and the way Canada Weather makes their information hard to access, especially for farmers who depend on weather patterns to plan the bulk of their season.
Party opposition to Bill C-15, which was designed to establish regulations for making sure indigenous communities and groups are consulted when making decisions that may affect them. Kurek explained that the Federal Government was misleading Canadians about what the bill would accomplish, and was vague on how consultations with indigenous groups would work.
Disappointment in Bill C-21 saying he doesn’t like how the bill is designed to punish law-biding gun owners, but does nothing to solve the actual problem of gun violence by criminals. He clarified he does support gun laws, but not as a form of punishing those who have done nothing wrong.
Bill C-10 which would update the Canadian Broadcasting Act. The act is designed to regulate web giants to help level the playing field for Canadian companies. The Conservatives became concerned after the bill was first reviewed and presented to the public, when the Liberals quietly removed the part that would exclude regulating user-generated content. The party feeling is that the bill now gives the CRTC unchecked authority on what people can and can’t post/see on the internet.
Equalization payments are important, but they seem to be used to punish certain provinces, causin alienation. Kurek stated it was important that Alberta be treated like the member of the Federation that it is, and not just used as the bank for certain parts of the country. He talked about how the Liberals seem to pick and choose the financial numbers to suit their narrative, as opposed to discussing Canada’s financial system as a whole.
Kurek stated his party would support a tax on carbon, if they got into office, but they would do so in a way that balances out who gets charged, and what, and who would be exempt.
Canada’s refusal to ban Huawei in Canada, despite other countries doing so based on collective intelligence.
The Prime Minister’s refusal to discuss Canadian security concerns, such as members of the People’s Communist Party of China, gaining access to high secured Canadian Labs. He says it is important to his party that they push the Liberals on the issue, and that it is disappointing that any attempts to discuss the concerns has been met with accusations of racism as a way to deflect.
Carson Ellis, Reporter