Kamloops MPs Caputo, Arnold gearing up for upcoming fall session after summer break

“Those are the types of things I think people want us to be discussing in the House of Commons and to put aside the partisanship on this issue.”

Added Arnold, “we’re hoping to see a Team Canada approach on this and have these tariffs and counter-tariffs removed so we can do business, both in Canada and the U.S.”

Arnold also told CFJC he’s heard major concerns over the summer at a roundtable he held on property rights and the uncertainty in the wake of the Cowichan decision.

“Broad concern from a multi-spectrum group that was at that meeting,” Arnold said. “Everything from property investment to business investment to ranching tenures, that was one of the big things early on in the summer.”

“There’s certainly going to be other things,” Arnold added. “I know we’ve got legislation that was put forward in June on data privacy and how do we protect Canadians data privacy in this new world of AI. And then the safe social media aspect of it and whether we ban social media access to people under certain ages, and how do we do that?”

“We’re going to have a lot of discussions around those issues as well.”

Caputo is also working on petitions around flood repairs in the Merritt-area as well as a new fire station in Barriere, in addition to the Red Bridge in Kamloops. He also told CFJC he was pleased to see Bailey’s Law take effect this summer, and he’s eyeing more private members bills, but wouldn’t offer many details.

“We’ve seen some bail reform that Conservatives have supported, that I’ve supported, but I think we actually need to go quite a bit further,” Caputo said. “As a little bit of a spoiler, you’ll probably see bail reform come up in a private members bill or two from me in the next year or two.”

Arnold has no similar plans as he’s hoping to see his private member’s bill to the finish line. Tabled in September last year, Bill C-221 will require that victims of crime be given timely information about the sentencing, parole and movements of offenders.

“It will be at committee in the first week back for committee study,” Arnold said. “Part of the components of that bill have been taken up in the government’s Bill C-16 but they haven’t been implemented yet, so I’ll be looking to push my bill forward.”

The fall session of the House of Commons is set to run every week until the middle of December, with exceptions during the week of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in September, Thanksgiving in October and Remembrance Day in November.

“As we go back to Ottawa, we’ll be carrying the messages that we’ve heard from residents over the summer, fighting for what people of Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies deserve,” Arnold said.

Caputo also noted the start of this fall session comes one day after the five-year anniversary of his election to parliament in 2021.

“It’s back to school but it’s a place where I really feel like home,” Caputo said. “It’s always an honour to walk on the green carpet of the House of Commons so I’m excited to get back.”

by Victor Kaisar

Kamloops MPs Caputo, Arnold gearing up for upcoming fall session after summer break

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