Spring 2005 - Brad Trost

B RAD T ROST
Your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt
I work for you. Don’t hesitate to write or call.
Ottawa
Saskatoon
Humboldt
Room 930
1013 8th Street East
Saskatoon, SK S7H 0S2
Phone: 306-975-6133
Toll-Free 1-866-797-6133
Fax: 306-975-6670
NOW OPEN 2 DAYS A WEEK
Confederation Building
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 992-8052
Fax: (613) 996-9899
Humboldt Mall, Unit R-24
1919A 8th Avenue
Humboldt, SK S0K 2A0
Phone: (306) 682-8515
Fax: (306) 682-8510
Spring 2005
Fighting For A Fair Deal For Saskatchewan!
In a speech in the House of Commons on April 18th, MP Brad Trost called on Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and the
Liberal government to give Saskatchewan the same equalization deal that Ottawa recently concluded with Nova
Scotia, Labrador and Newfoundland:
“The way equalization is currently structured, people of Saskatchewan are losing benefits from their natural
resources. Every time the government of Saskatchewan gets a dollar in royalties for oil, or uranium and so forth, the
federal government claws it back, and the people of Saskatchewan no longer get the benefit of that wealth which is
supposed to be theirs under the Constitution.
“The purpose of the question was to have the same principles apply to Saskatchewan that Newfoundland and
Labrador and Nova Scotia received in the deals they made, and that is the full utilization of their natural resources for
the wealth of the province. Many academics have demonstrated that the way the equalization system is set up
currently is unfair. We end up with double counting in general GDP and then in specific revenues with the
equalization. Unique categories such as asbestos and potash are counted one way, heavy oil another, hydro another,
and so forth. We want nothing more than the basic principles of fairness applied.
“To the province of Saskatchewan this would mean $800 million a year according to Library of Parliament estimates.
What could $800 million do for the province of Saskatchewan? What could it do for the people? What is it in practical,
concrete terms? Let me give a couple of examples: Saskatchewan could have 260 MRI machines, which perhaps is too
many but the province could have them. It could have 26 four lane bridges with full cloverleaf entrances. Again it is
probably more than we need but that is how many we could have. We could completely abolish all the education
property tax for everyone, farmers, businesses and homeowners, throughout the province of Saskatchewan.
“That is the practical meaning of what equalization is. It is fairness we seek, fairness for the province of
Saskatchewan.
“The people of Saskatchewan are going to hold the finance minister and the Liberals to account for not
offering the province of Saskatchewan the same deal on equalization that they made with Nova Scotia
and Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Forum For Young Canadians
Six young residents of Saskatoon Humboldt recently joined about 150 other carefully selected senior high school
students from across Canada for a week of study in Ottawa. These students, aged from 15 to 19 years, are
participants in the Forum for Young Canadians. Local students taking part in the Forum this spring were: Julia
Loewen of Aberdeen and Jennifer Wang of Saskatoon; James Hay from Humboldt; Courtney Thompson of
Naicam; Andrew Baker from Humboldt and Jennifer Parry from Naicam.
The Forum program includes a week’s stay in Ottawa.
Students study the processes of government in Canada.
The goal of the program is to allow students to
experience first-hand how government in Canada
works. Each day is filled with exciting activities:
Meetings with national decision makers; vigorous
debate amongst the students on the issues of the day
and special access to both the Chambers of
Parliament—The House of Commons and the Senate.
For example, “students have the special privilege of
sitting in both the House of Commons and Senate with the
Speakers of both Chambers. They watch Question Period
from the Visitor's Gallery, then make this experience come
alive in simulations of Forum Question Periods and a First
Ministers' Conference,” according to Forum organizers.
MP Brad Trost met with Courtney Thompson of Naicam and Andrew Baker of Humboldt
during an April 13th dinner for participants of the Forum for Young Canadians, held in
West Block on Parliament Hill. More photographs on page 2.
www.bradtrost.ca
Trost Seeks Intervenor Status: BSE Court Case
MP Brad Trost and over 30 of his fellow Conservative MPs will
apply for intervenor status in Montana state court, in an
attempt to get the U.S. border open to exports of live cattle
from Canada.
Intervenor status allows an interested party be an actual
participant in the proceedings of the court. If the Liberals
were on the ball, the Government of Canada would apply for
intervenor status because the federal government has the
strongest voice. Inexplicably, the Liberals have refused to
even participate in the Montana court case in terms of trying
to offer testimony.
If Judge Cebull doesn’t grant Brad and the other Conservative
MPs intervenor status, the next step will be to appeal the
judge’s decision at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in
California. Conservative MPs will appeal—as long as such an
action doesn’t cause any delays in the process.
Agriculture and the family farm are both top priorities of Brad Trost
and the Conservative team. Brad is shown here during a round table
discussion, part of a Saskatchewan caucus meeting on April 20th.
Farm And Ranch
Saving Seed: We are getting calls from farmers concerned about not being able to save seed for future crops because
of the possibility of stronger plant breeder rights. An article on the opinion page of the April 7th edition of Western
Producer (“Farmer’s privilege under threat,” by National Farmers Union vice president Terry Boehm, page 7) raised alarm.
In his opinion piece, Boehm was of the view that plant breeders rights would “trump farmer’s privilege every time or so
expensive that farmers will not bother to save seeds.”
The Conservative Party of Canada recognizes that many farmers rely primarily on farm-saved seeds and that genetically
engineered technology which renders seeds sterile threatens that practice.
The policy position of MP Brad Trost and the Conservative team on this issue is quite clear:
The Conservative Party of Canada contends that the rights of farmers must be foremost in any
development of technology or regulation thereof.
Rising Farm Input Costs: Brad Trost is concerned about the impact that rising fuel costs are having on the family
farm, on businesses and everyone who has to dig deeper to fill up their vehicle. As the chair of the Conservative Energy
Caucus and as a member of the House of Commons Committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and Technology,
Brad has questioned Liberal Cabinet Ministers, federal officials and industry experts about energy issues.
In recent testimony before the Environment Committee (Brad was filling in for another MP at the time), the MPs listened
to Dr. Mark Jaccard, an energy expert from Simon Fraser University. Dr. Jaccard stressed that if Canada implements the
Kyoto Protocol, energy costs will double (all energy will double in price: electricity, oil and natural gas).
Local Students Visit Ottawa
For more
info:
www.forum.ca
MP Brad Trost and Forum For Young
Canadians participant Jennifer Parry of
Naicam chat before a Forum dinner in West
Block on April 20th. Members of Parliament
Front Row: MP Brad Trost had dinner in the West Block Parliamentary building with
met with students to talk about government
Forum For Young Canadians participants Julia Loewen of Aberdeen and Jennifer Wang of
and democracy. James Hay of Humboldt was
Saskatoon on March 9th. Back Row: Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and fellow
also a Forum participant (no photo).
Conservative MP Chuck Strahl with students from his riding in British Columbia.
www.bradtrost.ca
Tax Treatment Of Hockey Players Unjust
The House of Commons gave preliminary approval to legislation that would protect hockey players from being taxed on
room & board. On April 13th, Brad gave the following speech in support of the Bill. Here are some excerpts: “Only a
couple of years ago we would not have needed this legislation. The tax department, Revenue Canada, was reasonable. It
realized that the stipend, the money given to people for taking care of amateur junior hockey players who played for
non-profit junior hockey teams really was not income. However a couple of years ago something strange happened. The
people at Revenue Canada, the government's tax people, began to look around and noticed that there was more money
to be had. They decided to do something about it, but they did not do it across the whole country. They decided to pick
on one province only, my home province of Saskatchewan. They decided they would go after the SJHL…. They decided to
go after those players and those teams and not just change the rules for the future, but to back tax them and make
assessments.
“For the House to understand just how absurd the government's position was with respect to this and how absurd
Revenue Canada was, Revenue Canada did not even go after all the teams in the SJHL. It just went after the ones inside
the boundaries of the province of Saskatchewan. For the record I am not arguing that the Flin Flon Bombers, the one
team outside, should have been taxed. I am just noting the hypocrisy of it all. “Having talked with members who have
been in the House longer than I, what began to happen was a typical story of government ping-pong, “It is not my fault;
it is someone else”. They talked with the revenue minister. They were told that no, it was with finance. They talked with
finance and were told that no, it was with revenue. It was back and forth and back and forth. It was a classic case of
dithering. There was absolutely no decisiveness, no leadership, no ability to stand up and make a decision on something
as easy as hockey. It was just “It is not my department, not my fault”.
“I watched Coach's Corner and saw Don Cherry, Mr. Hockey himself, stand up and speak for the SJHL and speak for
fairness. We are not talking about players who get out there and play for big dollars. These players do it for the love of
the game. This affects small town amateur hockey teams, such as one of my favourite teams, the Humboldt Broncos, a
team with a great history. The government does not seem to worry about small things. We watch how it spends and
wastes money. It did it with the gun registry. It is now doing it, as we are seeing in painfully excruciating detail, on the
sponsorship program. It does not really seem to care about the little people, the things that impact and make a true
difference to people in Saskatchewan and people all across the country. The government just seems to ignore it.
“This is something that has a real impact on the town of Humboldt. It will have to raise money, and the amount could
vary from $10,000 to $15,000, or depending on how the rules are, an extra $20,000 a year. That is money going from
my community to Ottawa, money that has to be raised either through raffle tickets, or in whatever ways that amateur
hockey teams do it. The Humboldt Broncos have a proud tradition. Every little bit of government tax, every element of
government assault on them makes it harder for them to do it.”
Trost Invited To Join Adopt An MP Program
The Saskatchewan Association for Community Living (SACL)
embarked upon the Adopt-an-MLA Campaign in January of
2004. The program has been expanded to Adopt-an-MP.
MP Brad Trost was adopted by Stephanie Schugmann of
Humboldt.
In order to forge relationships, families around Saskatchewan
who belong to the SACL have been inviting their MPs and
MLAs into their home for a short visit and a cup of coffee.
Ideally, the SACL would like every politician to meet a family
in a relaxed, informal setting to raise awareness regarding
intellectual disability issues.
Ted and Loretta Schugmann, and daughter Stephanie, met with Brad
Trost during his MP’s Coffee Tour at the Humboldt Mall on March 1st.
#
Please take the time to respond to this tear-off reply card and return it to me in the mail.
1. Should criminals convicted of violent crimes receive tougher sentences?
□ Yes
□ No
2. Should the federal government soften Canada’s drugs laws regarding the use and □ Yes
possession of non medicinal marijuana?
□ No
3. Should the federal government divert funding from the gun registry to the RCMP
□ Yes
□ No
to provide more resources for front line policing?
www.bradtrost.ca
Supporting Our Police Officers
The growing problem of “Crystal Meth” labs popping
up across Saskatoon and in rural Saskatchewan is of
deep concern to Brad Trost and his fellow
Conservative MPs.
The need for the federal government to provide more
resources to police departments to fight drugs
(including crystal methamphetamine) was discussed
in an April meeting between Brad and Saskatchewan
representatives from the Canadian Professional Police
Association.
Brad reiterated his support to direct federal funding to
front line police officers so that they have the tools
they need to fight crime, including catching drug
dealers who peddle poison like crystal
methamphetamine.
Among populations surveyed in one report, 48 per
cent of youth between the age of 19 and 24 used
crystal meth. However, a different report by
Saskatchewan Health stated that crystal meth use is
uneven throughout Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan representatives of the Canadian Professional Police Association
talked with MP Brad Trost in Ottawa on April 5th. L to R: Bob Peters, Brad Trost,
Stan Goertzen and Dave Haye.
Telephone Survey Results
Retain Traditional Definition of Marriage?
Tougher Sentences for Violent Criminals?
Undecided,
3.9%
Undecided,
3.7%
No, 5.1%
Legalize Marijuana?
Undecided,
5.6%
In favour,
24.5%
No, 22.6%
Yes, 73.6%
Yes, 91%
Opposed,
69.8%
10,000 Saskatoon-Humboldt residents surveyed
Trost Polls Constituents In Extensive Survey
Tougher jail sentences for violent criminals and strong opposition to softening marijuana laws were the findings
of a scientifically based survey conducted by the office of MP Brad Trost.
“Crime is a big issue that affects real people’s lives in Saskatoon-Humboldt. This survey confirms what my
constituents have been telling me,” said Trost. “All levels of government need to stop coddling criminals and get
tough on drug dealers,” Trost added. The majority of respondents also said “Yes” to keeping the traditional
definition of marriage. It was no surprise that the people of Saskatoon-Humboldt strongly support traditional
marriage. “I conducted this survey to hear the voice of my constituents. I will take their message back to
Ottawa,” Trost said.
Over 10,000 residents of the riding of Saskatoon-Humboldt participated in a telephone survey, conducted from
the end of February to early April. Survey results: Retain traditional definition of marriage: 73.6% Change
definition: 22.6% Undecided 3.7% Legalize (non-medicinal) marijuana: 24.5% Oppose: 69.8% Undecided: 5.6%
Tougher sentences for violent criminals: 91% Yes; No 5.1% Undecided 3.9% Data was collected from
communities across the riding. Both urban and rural areas of Saskatoon-Humboldt were surveyed.
#
Name:
Address:
No
Postage
Phone:
Email:
Brad Trost, MP
1013 8th Street East
Saskatoon, SK
S7H 0S2
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