Brison responds to town hall talk at Canning constituency session

By Kirk Starratt

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison said his town hall meeting at the Canning Fire Hall April 19 was one of the best discussions he’s had with constituents.

Brison said there was a lot of common sense involved in a broad discussion of local, national and global issues at the non-partisan meeting.

One constituent said not enough attention is being paid to what the prime minister is doing to the structure of government and the federal civil service. The individual asked about a bill that could have serious ramifications on Canadian film and TV production and a private member’s bill on abortion.

“When will the Liberals get organized enough to defeat the government?” the constituent asked.

Brison said most federal public servants are absolutely committed to making a difference, but they do feel demoralized. Federal scientists and employees of various other government departments used to speak freely with the media but that’s changed. People feel they can’t say anything if it doesn’t go through the prime minister’s office.

“Reducing access is non-sensical, and it’s demoralizing to the public service,” Brison said, pointing out he doesn’t believe when a politician disagrees with the head of an agency over a science issue the politician should be firing that individual.

In terms of censorship issues surrounding Bill C-10, Brison said you could question whether or not anyone would have invested in successful Canadian film and TV productions had this legislation been enacted in the past.

Senator Wilfred Moore, in attendance, said Bill C-10 is before the senate now and it seems absolute power would rest with the minister of heritage. He said amendments would be made in the senate.

Brison said the Liberals will have a strong platform when election time comes, although some feel they should strike now.

“You can’t sustain a 30-day election campaign on scandal,” he said, pointing out Leader Stephane Dion is not an attack dog and is at his best when he’s fighting for something. He said Dion has honesty, decency and intelligence and has been grossly underestimated.

“I think people will trust him.”

Hot topics

Several questions surrounded foreign policy, clean energy, the environment and food security. Brison said we need strong foreign policy, and foreign policy can be a great unity builder.

He would like to see a focus on fair trade and buying locally, part of the food security issue. When people from cities attend town hall meetings, Brison said, their eyes glaze over when farming issues are discussed - but food safety and security issues catch their interest. This could be a way to rally urban citizens around agricultural issues.

He said it’s ridiculous people are paying more for a bottle of water than a litre of gasoline, and we’ve somehow lost our survival skills. People used to have cold storage rooms in their basements filled with vegetables for the winter.

He said, until there is a critical mass of alternative energy, the cost will remain high. Government can help reduce costs through tax incentives for businesses and homeowners who invest in clean energy. Brison sees more leadership from business than government on the environment. He said we would see great environmental leadership from China over the next five to ten years.

There is a lot of enthusiasm for bio fuel but Brison doesn’t see it being environmentally beneficial and it’s having a negative effect on food prices. It could lead to more off shoring of our food production - not in the best interest of the farming community.

Brison said water would likely become as big an issue as climate change is now within five years and, as a country with lots of fresh water, Canada has a disproportionate responsibility to make policy.

There is lots of debate over land issues in Kings County: people are concerned with development and the loss of high capability agricultural land. Brison said we are at the heart of what would become a global debate over land and water, and we could have lessons to share with the world.

The concept of tidal power is exciting to Brison, although issues surrounding the flow of tides and marine life must be addressed first.