A lot of people from the Prairies feel that Ottawa is a long way away, and in terms of trips, it is. But Member of Parliament for Portage-Lisgar, Branden Leslie, is trying to bring citizens of his riding into federal discussions, and also to the House of Commons.
"One of my favourite parts that doesn't happen as much as I wish it would, but anybody coming to visit Ottawa, I love when we have constituents from our region come to Ottawa. If they have family there or they're just coming for a vacation, I get to take them on a tour, and set them up for question period, and that's one of the highlights for me."
Leslie adds that when it comes to representing the community of Portage la Prairie, and the rest of the riding, his votes in Parliament are geared toward what he believes the overwhelming opinions of his riding are. Leslie added that he currently represents around 100,000 people in the region.
"It is a remarkably humbling experience to have that many people," Leslie notes. "It's also difficult, because you can imagine ten people in a room, versus 100,000, there's a lot of different views in that same room. My job is to collect and collate them and understand what the overall consensus is, and drive that message back home to Ottawa. When it comes to a vote, I try to use ways to communicate with folks, surveys, be it email or direct mailers to get a sense of what people think I should be doing, what I should be standing up for. Again, my favourite time is being back here so I can not only get the pulse but get back home and talk to real people."
Leslie was at home for the week, taking part in various events from the Portage Terriers Sportsman's Dinner to the Delta Waterfowl Fundraiser, as well as two Remembrance Day events in Morden and Portage.
"Throughout the week, I've been meeting with not-for-profits and touring businesses and meeting with constituents and getting a sense of where people's heads are at, what's bothering them, what they want to see, and my goal is to take that back to Ottawa when I go back on Sunday."