By Greg Fry

Kamloops MP reflects on fall parliamentary session

Dec 14, 2017 | 8:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Conservative MP Cathy McLeod has reflected on this fall’s parliamentary session and says it’s been “plagued by many missteps on the finance file.”

“Certainly, the small business tax changes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen people in our riding so angry over what was unfair targeting in terms of the changes,” she says. “The Liberals had to back down and now they’ve introduced another version but really between that and the missteps of the finance minister in terms of how he conducted his own personal affairs were very dominant in the session.”

McLeod also gives the Trudeau Liberals a failing grade when it came to cultivating free-trade agreements.

“NAFTA is struggling and the Trans Pacific Partnership, they totally confused our trade partners in that deal and just came back from China empty-handed.”

McLeod says she has been impressed with new Conservative leader Andrew Scheer’s performance.

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“He’s getting stronger every day and getting more well known every day. It turns out he was googled more than any leader and although the results in South Surrey-White Rock (Monday’s byelection where the Conservatives lost their seat) were disappointing, if I look at all the other ridings in the country (there were four byelections Monday) we were the only party to see significant increases from Newfoundland to Scarborough to Saskatchewan. Of course, a bit of a disappointment in South Surrey-White Rock.”

McLeod isn’t overly concerned her party lost the South Surrey-White Rock riding, one it had held since the 1950s.

“We’re two years out from an election. You look at the results in 2015 and I’m not sure anyone every would’ve predicted what happened two years earlier. So, they say in politics a day is a long period so a lot can happen in two years.”