Member of Parliament Randy Hoback gives a speech during a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medallion presentation on April 21, 2023. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

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Prince Albert’s Member of Parliament (MP) says the federal liberal party is doing what’s best for themselves and not what’s in the best interest of Canada.

Randy Hoback is weighing in on Prime Minister Trudeau’s decision to prorogue parliament and also to step down as party leader after a leadership race. Hoback would have preferred an election be called.

“So instead of putting in place that a government that would have a mandate to deal with things like homelessness, to deal with things like the crime, or the threatening tariffs coming from the US, we’ve got a parliament that’s shattered and we’ve got a Prime Minister who’s a lame duck and he’s totally disrespected by all world leaders and Canadians,” he said.

Reflecting back on the past few weeks of parliament, Hoback noted much was getting done anyway, citing a lack of legislation moving through the house and no response to the Conservative Party’s demands to release papers regarding foreign interference.

“And now after the announcement of Trudeau’s pending resignation, there’s still nothing being done so it’s it’s a very frustrating time of year.”

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As the Conservative party critic for Canada-US relations, Hoback has spent a great deal of time in Washington and south of the border.

US President-Elect Donald Trump promised to impose on 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, unless Canada beefs up its border security. Hoback believes anything Trump says should be taken seriously, and that a strategy to improve our relationships with our American neighbours should have been put in place a year ago.

“Some of the things Trump was complaining about are true. You know we do have a fentanyl issue. We do have a drug issue, you can go in downtown Prince Albert and see the problems with drugs right there on the street, ” he said. So those are real issues that need to be addressed regardless whether Trump brings them forward or not we should be addressing those types of issues.”

And when asked what impact these tariffs could potentially have on the agriculture and forestry sectors in his own riding, Hoback said he did not want to speculate until we know exactly what’s sectors will be impacted. At the same time, he also noted the importance of taking a breath and taking care of ourselves.

“We can’t control what Trump will say or may not say, or do or may not do, but we can do is control is the things that would make our lives better here in Canada like getting rid of the carbon tax. We can control looking at how to make our business more competitive, and we can look at things like inter-provincial trade barriers and get those reduced to improve our GDP,” he said.

Parliament has been prorogued until March 24 and Hoback plans to stay busy. In addition to meeting with business leaders across the country, Hoback also plans to spend some time in his own riding including passport clinics and meeting with the different Mayors, Reeves and councillors.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the new Mayor of Prince Albert. We’ve talked on the phone, but it’ll be nice to sit down face-to-face with him and discuss what he thinks the priorities are for Prince Albert and see what’s changed and what hasn’t changed.”

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

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