The MP for Portage-Lisgar has been taking advantage of some newly found free time, thanks to a prorogued Parliament, using it to foster stronger community connections.
During this unusual time, Members of Parliament from across the country are able to spend more time in their constituencies rather than head back to Ottawa. It won't be until late March when they return to the capital.
Outreach in Communities
Branden Leslie says he's been able to connect with many people in Portage-Lisgar and discuss important issues.
"Obviously, I represent many small towns right across our region. I'm going to be trying to get out to as many of them as possible, attend some community gatherings, some open coffees, things like that. I just get the chance to hear from people and also take the opportunity to sit down with some of our local city, town, and R.M. councils, getting a bit of an update on issues that matter to them."
Leslie announced his team is also setting up more community passport clinics.
"We've done a few so far, and we're going to be doing some in Portage, Notre Dame, and Elie throughout February. We're finalizing some of the finer details, but there's going to be one taking place in Portage, for sure. It's an opportunity. We provide a photographer, which is often hard to come by, to get the correct passport photos. The photographer charges about $25, and we have staff and volunteers look over the forms and then take them back to Ottawa as a service for the community. It's a great opportunity for those who need to renew their passports in the next few months, to help get it done without the burden of going to downtown Winnipeg to Passport Canada, or anything like that. We're trying to offer some services to people in this 'found time' that I have here in the community for the next couple of months."
Policy and Reform
Additionally, Leslie recently took a ride with the RCMP.
"Obviously, this is not something everyone gets to do," said Leslie. "We didn't get involved in too much in terms of actual stops, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to sit, chat, and hear about the tools they have, the technologies they use, and some of the challenges they face, both in terms of the repeat offenders."
According to Leslie, this affects morale in terms of recruitment and retention.
The Conservative MP added, if his party is elected the next time Canadians head to the polls, the current Liberal government's catch-and-release policy will be disposed of quickly.
"It's one of our four core pillars. When we talk about Axe the Tax, build the homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime, a big part of our platform is going to be centered around bail reform and much stricter sentencing so there's actually real deterrent and punishment for those that commit repeat offenses—particularly, repeat criminal offenses—whether that be stealing multiple cars over and over again, or more violent offenses."
Tragic Loss and Community Impact
Leslie cited the recent death of Portage la Prairie's, Kellie Verwey, and how it wracked the community.
Verwey died in a three-vehicle crash on Highway 26, east of the city, last week. A 24-year-old man, with an active arrest warrant at the time, was charged with multiple offences related to the crash, including Dangerous Driving Causing Death and Impaired Driving.
"To see that tragedy and know that it was completely preventable if that individual would have been behind bars, I think, goes to show for our region and right across the country, there are too many examples like this," said Leslie. "People have been released through this revolving-door, soft-on-crime Liberal policy, and it has to come to an end. There are simply no more excuses when innocent people are losing their lives like this. This simply can't go on."
Leslie says he's currently writing a letter to federal Justice Minister, Arif Virani, and has been in touch with the immediate Verwey family, who he says are devastated and infuriated at the current state of the justice department.
"I think anybody that hears the story feels the exact same way," he said. "So, we're going to be pushing that these reforms be made. It's not going to happen under this government, let's face it. That's what I spoke with the family about. I told them that. But I think they just wanted to make sure that I was well aware and on the same page as they were, that these sorts of situations can't happen for the next innocent victim."
Government Critique on Capital Gains
According to Leslie, an abuse of government recently occurred involving Capital Gains, and says the Conservative Party is unable to critique and address it due to the prorogued Parliament.
"They (the Liberal government) announced last spring that they were going to be changing the Capital Gains Inclusion Rate from 50 percent to 66 percent. Any individual who owns a business and is retiring and selling it will be paying a capital gains tax at a much higher rate. Anybody who has bought a secondary investment property or just inherited a family cottage that went up in value, and they're looking to sell that, are going to be paying a much higher rate of taxes," he explained. "While I personally disagree with that, and according to the CD Howell Institute, it's going to kill about 400,000 jobs in Canada—a typical Liberal anti-growth measure."
What's most problematic, added Leslie, is that the legislation never actually passed the House of Commons.
With files from Michael Blume