With the summer winding down, Members of Parliament from across the country are returning to Ottawa after a summer in the constituency. This includes Souris-Moose Mountain MP, Dr. Robert Kitchen.  

Kitchen didn’t just take some time off during the summer, though, as he was busy in and around the riding.  

“I’m a people person, so I love talking with people and hearing what they have to say," explained Kitchen. “Hearing so many different aspects of the riding, whether it's oil and gas, whether it’s potash, whether it’s agriculture right now with the harvest going on and the challenges they have with that.” 

The time wasn’t just spent in the riding, however. There was also a crucial Conservative Party of Canada policy convention that was held in Quebec. The convention, where party members looked to provide direction as politicians head back to Ottawa, saw the party pass policies such as affirming the right to refuse vaccines, refusing employment training for ideological reasons, restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth and opposing the inclusion of trans women in women’s spaces.  

The party did not vote on other policies that were brought up, including bail reform, a policy to encourage banks to look at past rental payment history when looking for a mortgage, defunding the CBC and international credential recognition. 

"It was a great convention,” Kitchen exclaimed, stating the convention went very well. “It’s an opportunity to hear all aspects of the big tent that we are as a party, and we’re being respectful of those opinions and the fact that someone has one; we can respect those opinions and agree or disagree, but at least have that conversation.” 

As the MP for the southeast corner of the province, Kitchen will be looking forward to being able to keep the federal government on its toes when it comes to what was originally called Just Transition but is now called Sustainable Jobs.  

“They kick that card down the road, and that’s unfortunate. That's something I’m going to be focusing on for our oil and gas, and in particular, our coal miners and the energy sector here in the southeast corner.” 

While he will be looking at some riding-specific issues, there is the overall aim of the Opposition Conservatives when Parliament resumes.  

“We will still be focusing on the inflationary increases that have happened by this government,” Kitchen continued. “What doesn’t seem to be getting through to Mr. Trudeau is that you tax the farmer who has to pay for it. Then you tax the transporter of that product who has to pay for it, and then you tax the people who provide that service and they have to pay for it, and ultimately, all those costs add up to yours and my pockets, and that increased tax and the carbon tax just escalates the inflationary cost to all of us, which makes it so much harder for Canadians to survive.” 

The situation surrounding housing will also be a key focus of the parliamentary session, with both Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing plans going forward. Poilievre stated he would be introducing a private member’s bill Monday to work on getting homes built with less bureaucracy by taking away funding from municipalities that don’t loosen up zoning regulations to allow for more homes to be built. Meanwhile, Trudeau’s policy, outlined Thursday as well, stated the Liberal government would be eliminating the GST on new multi-dwelling home construction.  

Parliament will be sitting from Monday until December 15th, with a week off for the week after Thanksgiving, and another week off for the week after Remembrance Day.  

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