‘By any metric, this man, is a terrible divisive leader and for somebody to put their name on a ballot, after that?’ – Calgary Nose Hill Conservative MP Michelle Rempel

Kamloops - Thompson - Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod

Last night, Calgary Nose Hill Conservative MP Michelle Rempel spoke to dozens of men and women of all ages, including many with young children and babies, at an open house for Kamloops Thompson Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod.  She spoke with passion, which I asked her about.

“I think Canadians really do have the responsibility to understand that this election is about ensuring that someone who has lost the moral authority to govern this country, by any metric, does not continue pulling our country away from some of the foundational principles that our democracy is founded on ...  like the independence of the judiciary”, she said.

“Our economy is not doing what it needs to do because of the detrimental policy of the Liberal govt ... and frankly ... SNC Lavalin ... all of these ethic violations ... he can’t be allowed to govern any more”, she said, before continuing;

“We are, as the Conservative Party, offering Canadians a choice.  It’s not just about telling somebody ‘what not to vote for’, it’s presenting an alternative plan that brings common sense to government, that puts that on the table”.

I mentioned to Michelle that ‘common sense’ seems to be an overused term, when it comes to politics, and that even she herself had used it.  She responded, perhaps clarifying its use, by saying:

“You know Canada is a country where we strive to ensure that everyone has equality of opportunity ... to prosper and to enjoy the freedoms we have in this country. The reason why I am part of the Conservative Party of Canada is that I believe there is a role for government but it should be limited as much as possible, while ensuring the sustainability of programs that provide things like health care and education are there to help Canadians”.

“That is not the principles of those we see on the left, in any political party, and that’s sort of almost hard to discern between the Liberals, the NDP, and the Green.  It’s not the party of Paul Martin and John Chretien.”    

“The Liberal government has expanded spending on so many things that just don’t have a positive impact on the everyday Canadians life.  They’ve spent tens of billions of dollars on what?  To me it’s not about a partisan value, it’s more about what do we believe in as a country. This election really is a choice between preserving the foundations that allow us to have a pluralism, or allowing somebody who is in it for himself, to continue to take us off of that path”.

As for the BC Liberal candidate running in Kamloops Thompson Nicola? 

Calgary Nose Hill Conservative Party MP Michelle
Rempel speaking Wednesday evening in Kamloops

I mentioned to Ms. Rempel she had indicated an individual, but not by name although we all knew who she was talking about, had stood up to say, ‘I’ll run as a Liberal candidate’, but he had done so after knowing about ethics scandals ... after knowing about SNC-Lavalin ... after knowing about lavish vacations by the Prime Minister and his family.  I commented to Michelle that she spoken strongly about this individual ... about him standing on the side of Justin Trudeau.

“I do not understand how anyone could run under Justin Trudeau, knowing what they know”, she said, “I just don’t understand it”.

“How could you put your name on a ballot under a leader that is a fake feminist, that has turfed strong women for standing up to him to preserve the independence of Canada’s judiciary, who has given millions of dollars to everyone but Canadians who actually need it”. 

“By any metric, this man, is a terrible divisive leader and for somebody to put their name on a ballot, after that?”

Divisive politics, identity politics it seems, is becoming more and more the norm in Canadian politics, and so I asked Michelle her feelings on this:

“It’s not always harmonious here; there are times when we disagree, and don’t get along.  I think that it’s important to understand that part of preserving our pluralism is focusing on equality of opportunity, ensuring those who may face barriers to equality of opportunity (for reasons that exist in our law or our social practices) -- that we address those issues, but that we’re not doing so in a way where we create more division within our country”.

Continuing, she said to me, “I know that there’s been a lot of talk about immigration in Canada and I think that Canada is well positioned to continue to be a strong country that supports immigration in a fair orderly and compassionate manner”.

“I say all of these things because when we focus on how to get to equality of opportunity – not necessarily equality of outcome – we have the ability to maintain our individual identities based on where we came from, or how we have integrated in to Canada.  I know it sounds kind of esoteric, but to me, that’s where we need to be focused, and the Liberals, they just don’t understand that.  They look to sow division as opposed to trying to unite us”.

I mentioned to Ms. Rempel that she had spoken about a Prime Minister being a fake feminist, his gendered balanced cabinet, but who then turfed strong women for standing up to him.  While it was a topic she had opened up, she said she hated talking about it because it took her away from issues that needed to be talked about. 

Still, she did open up on the matter.

“My background is really strong, and I want to talk about the issues.  Since you asked me, and a million people ask me this all the time, on the gender cabinet ...”

“He had people in that cabinet like Jane Philpott, like Jody Wilson-Raybould, I might not agree with their political ideology on every issue, but they’ve worked really hard to get where they are regardless of their gender.

He could have just let that cabinet speak for itself, but he took credit for by saying I am going to have a gender balanced cabinet. They are there because I put them there, and that’s wrong”.

Then she went on to say, “In my party, no one asks me about my gender, they just know I am fighting for my community”.

“The day that I have to stop answering questions like this, is the day I actually know we have actually achieved gender equality in this country”.

Given her talk, given her clarity, and given her passion, it’s not hard to understand why she won her Calgary riding with over sixty percent of the vote in 2015, and almost certainly will again.  She also made sure that all who were at last night’s gathering understood they had a role to play in making sure Cathy McLeod was re-elected, and returned to fill a role in a Conservative government, on October 21^st.