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A Message from John

Alberta has a strong team of Conservative Members of Parliament in Ottawa and we are making sure Alberta’s priorities are loudly heard in the House of Commons.

Being in Opposition means we have to work with other parties to advance important issues — and we have.  We have managed to make a difference in a wide variety of areas for all Albertans, no matter who you voted for in the last election.

I am pleased to share a small sample of the amazing work and initiatives my Alberta Conservative MP colleagues and I have done on your  behalf.  We will continue to advocate for Alberta at every turn and ensure that Alberta is a key part of Canada’s economic recovery.

We will continue to defend our hard-working Albertans and demand that our province get its fair share of support and acknowledgement for our contributions.

By working together on your behalf, our Conservative team has been able to magnify our voices and our impact in Parliament.  I am thankful that I have the opportunity to work with such a dedicated and hard-working team.

As always, I appreciate your ongoing support and encouragement and consider it an honour to be your elected federal representative in the House of Commons.

John Barlow
Member of Parliament
Foothills

IN THIS EDITION
 
A message from John …………………………………………...  3
John’s Bill C-205 ………………………..……………………….   6
Overcoming the Stigma ………………………………………...  7
My Priorities ……………………………………………...………  8
Standing up for Agriculture ………………………………...….  9
Open e-Petitions ………………………………………………..  10
Barlow in the Chamber ……………………...…………...........  11
Update on Federal Spending…………………………………..  12
Compassionate Care Leave…………………………………..   13
Organ & Tissue Donation ……………………………………..  14
Equalization & Transfers Fairness ………………....………... 15
Energy & the Environment ……………………….…………...  16
Supporting Oil & Gas Workers …………………………..…… 17
Environmental Restoration …………………………………...  18
Opening Foreign Markets …………………………………….  19
 

Strengthening biosecurity

My Bill C-205

My Bill C-205, An Act to Amend the Health of Animals Act, addresses the critical issue of securing the biosecurity of our food supply, especially when people trespass onto farm property and facilities. It will also increase penalties for groups and organizations who encourage individuals to threaten the health of animals, workers and farm families.

This Bill does not limit an individual’s right to peacefully protest on public property or silence whistleblowers.

We have seen the devastating impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the entire Canadian economy, animal-borne diseases like African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease would equally devastate our agriculture sector from farm to table.

Bill C-205 is confidently making its way through the legislative hurdles in Parliament, with the support of Conservatives, NDP and Bloc MPs and passed at AGRI Committee stage.
 

Overcoming the stigma

Opioid addiction is a serious problem, but the situation has surpassed a crisis level due in large part to the stress and unemployment brought about by the pandemic. In Alberta specifically, opioid overdose deaths and suicides tripled from January to July last year.

This is an issue we must take seriously. I am co-chairing a Conservative Opioid Crisis Working Group.  Our aim is to look at the crisis holistically and with compassion. We are exploring policies to save lives and break the cycle of misery and tragedy.

Working together, we hope to build a framework to get dealers off the streets and offer those struggling a tangible pathway to successful recovery.

The effects of the pandemic on mental health are real and long-lasting. Finding a solution to the mental health and opioid crisis in Canada simply cannot wait any longer.

MY PRIORITIES


My resolve to defend Alberta, our rights and freedoms, and strive for a strong and united Canada has only become stronger over the last year. I am focused on economic recovery, getting people back to work & supporting businesses. My local priorities are:
  • AGRICULTURE: Unleash the potential of Alberta’s agriculture sector
  • ENERGY: Stand up for Canada’s natural resources
  • CONNECTIVITY: Commit to connect all rural Canadians to high speed internet service
  • CRIME: Focus on tackling rural crime 
  • SMALL BUSINESSES: ensure they have access to labour, dependable supply chain and competitive tax regime
  •  FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY:  We must get our fiscal house in order and rebuild our economy
  • SUPPORT OUR SENIORS

Standing up for Agriculture

The past couple years have been tremendously challenging for our farmers, ranchers and producers. When critical issues arise the Liberals fail to act. It is clear agriculture and agri-food are not a priority for this Liberal government, but I will always stand up for our agriculture sector.

That is why I pushed the government to fully realize the potential of trade agreements like CPTPP and CETA, especially for our livestock sector. We have repeatedly highlighted the failure to remove non-tariff trade barriers on agricultural goods while encouraging the reopening of critical markets. I held the government accountable on pressing trade issues like China’s ban on canola and temporary ban on beef and pork.

I worked with stakeholders and pressured the Liberal government to act during the 2018 grain backlog, and a year later demanded back to work legislation at the end of 2019 when the CN rail strike threatened the economy and the movement of agricultural commodities. I called out the lack of action and absence of the Agriculture Minister during the rail blockade in 2020.

When it comes to our competitiveness, I stood against the Liberal government’s carbon tax and its planned increase which disproportionately punishes farmers and rural communities and highlighted the lack of recognition for past efforts and accomplishments made by farmers in protecting the environment. We forced the government to reverse their decision to eliminate deferred cash grain tickets. We fought to reverse small business tax changes announced by the Finance Minister which impacted incorporated farm businesses, this lead to the government walking back on some proposals.

During COVID, I worked closely with stakeholders and with the Agriculture Minister to communicate the needs of the agriculture sector and proposed changes required to address the shortcomings of government announced programs. This included the need to exempt foreign workers from travel restrictions and the required financial support to address hard hit sectors like horticulture and the livestock industry.

Have your say
 
Open e-petitions sponsored by Alberta Members of Parliament:
  • e-3320: Canadian vehicle owners to have access and control of the data generated from their own vehicle [MP Cummings]
  • e-3357: Show solidarity and strengthen diplomatic ties with Taiwan [MP Genuis]
  • e-3369: Create a new bereavement leave for parents grieving the death of a child [MP Richards]
  • e-3388:  Ensure that the Ending the Long-gun Registry Act is fully upheld and personal data is fully and permanently deleted [MP Calkins]
  • e-3249: Repeal Bill C-21 and enact legislation to target criminals [MP Kmiec]

To learn more, or to sign a petition please visit: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Home/Index
 

Barlow in the House of Commons

   




























 

Chamber interventions
82
I participated in debates of important issues like hotel quarantines, reckless Liberal spending and climbing deficits, pipelines and standing up for Alberta’s natural resources, and defending Canadian agriculture. I asked the tough questions about hotel quarantines, mental health and the need for a made-in-Canada solution.
 your template.

Committee interventions
197
As a member of the Health Committee, my focus was on the government's failed emergency response, their lack of support for Canadian companies, demanding transparency on vaccine contracts, and the impact of COVID on the mental health of small business owners.
 

Bills
4
I have tabled my own Private Members Bill, C-205 (An Act to amend the Health of Animals Act), and jointly seconded three others:
  • C-289: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sentencing)
  • C-208: An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (transfer of small business or family farm or fishing corporations
  • C-206: An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (qualifying farming fuel)
 
Votes
181
 
 

Update on Federal spending

MP John Barlow

This Liberal Government will be remembered as the most unethical, corrupt and ineffective government in Canadian history. There is much to be said regarding Trudeau’s reckless spending including a deficit of more than $350 billion and $100 billion in new spending this year. By next year, Trudeau will have added more to Canada’s debt than all previous Prime Ministers in Canadian history combined.

Since the Liberals took government, the average Canadian middle-class family is paying $800 more in income tax than it was before the Liberal government took office. That is in addition to the increase in fuel taxes through the carbon tax and payroll taxes through increased CPP premiums. All of those tax increases compound to squeeze the average senior and Canadian family's ability to buy and invest in the private and productive economy.

Trudeau and his Liberal friends see the pandemic as a political opportunity to “reimagine” Canada’s economy. As Conservatives, we know this is not the time for risky economic resets, but a time to focus on reopening businesses, getting Canadians back to work and getting our economy back on track by supporting key industries like energy, agriculture and manufacturing.
Canadians wanted a plan to re-open our businesses, get Canadians back to work and rebuild our economy. Instead the Liberals have surpassed $1.4 trillion in debt and now each and every Canadian is saddled with $33,000 in their share of the national debt.

The recently released PBO report stated the Liberals’ carbon tax will cost Alberta ranch families $38,000 per year. There is incredible potential for Alberta agriculture, agri-food and agri-business, but to unleash that potential it must have a competitive tax and regulatory regime and a bankable, efficient suite of business risk management programs. I have opposed a carbon tax and will continue to do so as my constituents have stated.
Our country is at a crossroads and the future of Canada is at stake. Canadians must choose which path to recovery they can trust. Conservatives are earning that trust with a commitment to competent, accountable government, fiscal responsibility, safe communities and promoting energy, agriculture and small businesses and the important jobs and hard working families they support.
 

Compassionate Care Leave

Matt Jeneroux, MP for Edmonton Riverbend

“Grief is something we will all unfortunately experience in our lives, but the federal government could help make the process a little less painful.

My Bill, C-220, proposes to extend compassionate bereavement leave allowed to employees under the Canada Labour Code to 10 days, double the current five days of bereavement time.

This Bill originally proposed to extend Compassionate Care Leave, a program that some Canadians use to take job-protected leave to care for a terminally ill loved one.

Bill C-220 has unanimously passed in the House of Commons. You can find out more about my Bill at www.mattjeneroux.ca/bill-c220. “

Organ and tissue donation
Len Webber, MP for Calgary Confederation

“I have been a long-time advocate of organ and tissue donation and was instrumental in creating the organ donor registry in Alberta a few years ago. Sadly, 4,600 Canadians are awaiting a life-saving transplant. 

My Bill C-210 proposes a very simple, very effective method to increase the size of the organ donor base in Canada.  By adding a line to the tax forms, Canadians could signal their intent to become an organ and tissue donor and have this information passed to their provincial government to be added to the existing donor  registries. 

So far, the Bill has passed unanimously at every stage in the House of Commons and the Government has allocated funding. This change has the power to save many lives and improve the health outcomes for many Canadians.”

Equalization & transfers fairness

Tom Kmiec, MP for Calgary Shepard

My Bill C-263, the Equalization and Transfers Fairness Act will ensure fairness and transparency to Canada’s equalization and transfer system by removing the per capita cap on payments, ensuring the federal government cannot unilaterally change the equalization formula, and making a successful referendum on equalization impossible to ignore.

In 2015-2016, Alberta’s revenues dropped by $8.8 billion. With the fiscal stabilization cap, Alberta only received $248.3 million. Without the cap, Alberta would have received $2.9 billion.

In 2018, despite Alberta’s massive drop in revenues, the Liberal government supported and extended the existing formula.

Since 1961, Alberta’s net federal fiscal transfers have amounted to more than $600 billion.

We deserve a fair deal. It’s time for equalization fairness. Lean more at tomkmiecmp.ca/equalization fairness.

Energy and the environment

Greg McLean, MP for Calgary Centre

“Canada’s energy sector is unparalleled in its responsible approach to resource development, to the economic advancement of Indigenous communities, and in innovation that protects the environment. We must get that message out to Canadians with results that cannot be denied.

I have highlighted our province’s energy and environment achievements in Parliament and across Canada. My two Private Member’s Bills focused on these themes. Bill C-214 would have created tax incentives for well remediation, allowing the oil and gas sector to be treated equitably with Canada’s other industries. Bill C-262 incentivizes carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and is our most tangible path forward to meeting Canada’s environmental commitments.

Highlighting our world class environmental leadership and innovation moves our industry and our country forward while creating good jobs.”

Supporting Oil & Gas Workers

Ziad Aboultaif, MP for Edmonton Manning

It’s no secret that Alberta has experienced the effects of special interest groups fighting our industries. It is more important than ever to bring my motion, to give the House of Commons an opportunity to express its support to our energy sector,  in front of Parliament so proponents of oil and gas can speak up and show how essential this industry and its products are to Canadians. We need to demonstrate that Alberta’s energy is a technological marvel in the 21st century and a hub for a cleaner energy sector that incorporates natural resources.

If we give up, we will not pave the way for green energy. Instead, we would empower a dependence towards regimes that do not care about climate change and human rights. We need to stand up for Canada and Canadian workers, especially here in Alberta.

Environmental restoration
Shannon Stubbs, MP for Lakeland
 

“My Bill C-221 proposed a tax incentive for cleaning up closed and abandoned wells to small and medium oil and gas producers – who are already  remediation and restoration leaders.

This Liberal government’s anti-energy policies are shutting down Canada’s oil and gas, causing unprecedented bankruptcies and job losses in Canada’s energy sector, and a 300% increase in orphaned and abandoned wells in Canada. This Bill would have helped struggling small and medium energy businesses create jobs and help protect the environment, and ultimately protect taxpayers.

The Liberals, Bloc and NDPs who voted against Bill C-221 are clearly all talk about the environment because this bill would have actually helped the private sector to raise private funds for orphaned and abandoned well reclamation and remediation, instead of leaving it all up to the taxpayers. “

Opening Foreign Markets

James Cumming, MP for Edmonton Centre

To support access to foreign markets, I re-introduced my Private Members Bill C-229, An Act to Repeal Certain Restrictions on Shipping.

As producers of the most ethical and environmentally friendly energy in the world, Canada needs a reliable way to export its oil and natural resources to foreign markets. The ban on shipping our product on the Western coast made this more difficult.  There was no similar ban on our East coast which continues to see foreign oil imports at a staggering rate.

Opening trade routes is key to thousands of jobs that will lead Canada’s recovery throughout Canada and First Nations’ communities.

Unfortunately, without support from the other political parties, Bill C-229 was recently defeated but I remain committed to standing up for our energy industry and securing jobs for Canadian energy workers.


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