View From the Legislature

Last week I was in Washington D.C. and was able to meet with a number of officials and international leaders on issues important to Manitoba and residents of the Steinbach Constituency.

Together with federal officials, I attended a briefing at the Canadian Embassy on a number of issues related to the state of Canada-U.S. relations. This included the recently signed free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. With the election of a Democrat majority in the House of Representatives, work continues to advance the message of the importance of trade between our two nations. This is particularly true for Manitoba and Midwest states which have significant trade and commerce connections. There was also significant discussion on the energy file as Canada and Manitoba continue to seek ways to move our energy resources within Canada and internationally.

These meetings were helpful in my role as co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Relations Committee which involves Midwestern states and several Canadian provinces. It is clear that Washington is deeply divided politically and it is important for Canadian leaders to continue at every opportunity to express not only the historically important relationship we have with the United States but also the future importance of that relationship.

In addition, presentations were made by the United States Ambassador responsible for ending human trafficking. The rise of human sex trafficking has resulted in a number of new measures being established to better understand and disrupt this modern form of slavery. There is no country or region which is immune to this devastating crime.

In addition, a presentation was made by the United States Ambassador responsible for freedom of religion. Freedom to practice the faith of one’s choice or to practice no religion is recognized by the United Nations. Yet, there are many countries where this freedom is being eroded. A number of leaders from around the world provided an update on their countries about the success or challenges they were experiencing in maintaining this important right.