As Grande Prairie-Mackenzie County MP Chris Warkentin thinks about the year that is about to come to an end, he tells us he never imagined living through a worldwide pandemic.
“There are times when we had things like H1N1 as well as strains including SARS but never have we seen something like this worldwide that has impacted everyone’s life,” says Warkentin.
“We (the Conservative Party of Canada) are not only worried about the health challenges but also the mental health challenges of being alienated from one another.”
Warkentin is also optimistic that while times are difficult for small businesses, he expects our region’s entrepreneurs to bounce back.
“We are a different breed here in the Peace County,” he says.
“We have people here that have overcome challenges for generations and have always come out stronger.”
While he realizes the urgency of the situation for small business owners, he believes we have the right people to get through the economic hardships in the Peace and Mackenzie Regions.
“I really believe we will do better than other places simply because of the people we have and because people up here support their neighbours.”
Like many Tories in Alberta, Warkentin is very-much against the federal government’s decision to raise the carbon tax to $170 per tonne by 2030, calling it an “unthinkable announcement”.
“I cannot imagine what is going through the government’s mind that now they think is the time to level another tax on Canadians,” explains Warkentin, who also explains that the tax hurts residents in our region because of people who work in agriculture the energy sector, as well as residents having to drive longer distances than in urban centres.
“Of course we will be fighting this every step of the way,” insists Warkentin.
Warkentin is also sounding the alarm on a decision yet to be made, which is whether to allow Huawei to participate in the building of Canada’s 5G network.
“We do not believe that the Chinese technology should be utilized in that system,” states Warkentin.
“Simply because we don’t believe the Chinese communist government should have any control of our network. We believe we should be independent.”
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
