This past week I had the honour to be appointed to serve as co-chair of the Midwest-Canada Relations Committee, which is an international legislative committee working on Canadian trade and border policies. I have been a member of the committee for several years and am looking forward to taking on this new leadership role alongside my co-chair Senator Ed Charbonneau from Indiana. Senator Charbonneau and I have known each other for several years and I’ve appreciated his support and leadership on a number of issues related to trade and border security between our countries.
Canadians travel to the United States for both pleasure and business. Ensuring our mutual border is both safe and accessible is critical to both our countries. There are strong economic, security, political and personal ties between us and I look forward to working to strengthen those ties to the benefit of both our nations, as well as ensuring Manitoba’s voice is heard at the table.
The Committee will be comprised of lawmakers from: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. In addition, MLA’s from Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan all participate as part of the Midwestern Legislative Conference.
