Dr. Robert Kitchen is stepping down as the Conservative MP for Souris Moose Mountain, the new candidate will be selected this Friday with nomination meetings being held for Conservative party members throughout the weekend.
Michael Strachan is one of two candidates seeking the role. He is currently the Mayor of Torquay and says many residents and businesses asked him to seek the nomination. He announced his intention to run at the beginning of July.
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He stresses that listening to the concerns of the people and being available to the people he represents is very important to him.
“Being the Mayor of Torquay, I kind of understand the residents' perspective on things. It's one of those things in municipal politics where you actually listen to people, you don't have staffers getting in the way of people talking to you because they see you every day at the grocery store or out walking around your community, and having access to somebody that first and foremost listens to their concerns and also returns phone calls is important to residents.”
Strachan says transparency from politicians is crucial when running to speak for the people.
“We have politicians that are running to speak for the people but then also get their hands caught in the cookie jar, and we need to find ways to deal with that and putting some light on these and being open and transparent, and in the most serious of cases, if they've been proven guilty, they need to be removed from office, and ultimately I'm in favour of stripping them of their pension as well.”
When asked about changes he is pursuing should he be elected, Strachan emphasized improving the economy and the environment.
“The economy is one of those issues that we're in bad shape in this country, and I do believe in getting rid of the carbon tax first and foremost.”
He has experience in both the agriculture industry as well as the oil and gas industry and says the government should work alongside businesses to improve the environment, and that creating partnerships would balance out costs all around.
“Nobody in Souris Moose Mountain riding wants to see dirty waterways, dirty air, and we have a federal government that's penalizing businesses in this riding for trying to clean up their environment.”
“We don't have to use as much money at a federal government level because we're partnering with businesses that want to make money on cleaning the environment, and I think that's a bonus for everybody and something that the federal government has kind of lost by basically dictating to businesses in this riding with their methane caps and different environmental policies.”
Regarding the economy, Strachan plans for his time in office to put more money into the pockets of citizens.
“We have families in this riding of Souris Moose Mountain that are choosing between the food bank and paying their power bills, and that to me is terribly sad when we have so many natural resources in this riding that provide good-paying jobs, but we have policies from Ottawa that are detrimental to this riding.”
Other concerns mentioned included communicating with First Nations groups to address their needs, as well as addressing issues in healthcare and bringing more doctors to the area.
“I think we need to have discussions with First Nations, how we can bring them to the table to talk more about what they see as issues.”
“I think ultimately, it's about working for the people of Souris Moose Mountain and talking about health care, how we bring more doctors in, talking about housing, how to control immigration policies, environmental policies, ag policies. There's lots going on at the federal level, and we need people to listen to this riding.”
Strachan says that no matter who is elected, he hopes that years from now the residents of Souris Moose Mountain will see improvements in their homes, finances, industries, and politics.
“We have really good people in Souris Moose Mountain that understand all these policies better than I do, but we need a strong voice as well. I really truly believe I could be that voice and somebody that will stand up there and say, ‘Ottawa, you do need Souris Moose Mountain in this country’ and ‘listen to what my residents have to say.’”