View From the Legislature

On Wednesday, Canadians across the country celebrated Canada Day.

On Monday of this week more than 500 people concerned about the state of the pork industry in Manitoba gathered in Morris.

Most Manitobans and Canadians take for granted that our elections are free and fair.

The spring session of the Manitoba Legislature ended this week and it proved to be one of the most active sessions in recent memory with a number of important issues being debated and NDP scandals exposed.

I was pleased recently to second the introduction of legislation in the province that would help to protect children in care as well as support foster families who open their hearts and their homes to children in need.

At the Manitoba Legislature, and within our parliamentary system, there are number of ways to ensure government is operating in an open and transparent way.

The part of politics Canadians are most familiar with, in fact the only part many ever see on television, is Question Period. In Manitoba, it is the 40 minute segment of every day that members of the official opposition get to ask questions to government ministers about their respective departments.

Sometimes government runs into trouble purely as a result of circumstances beyond its control.

Recent statistics show that as the economy has slowed down over the past several months, Canadians have been putting more money against their debt and saving more money.

This week is Victims of Crime Awareness Week in Canada.