Churchill-Keewatinook Aski MP Niki Ashton will represent the NDP in the riding in the next federal election.
Ashton, who has served as MP for the riding for the last two terms was officially nominated on Oct. 13 to carry the NDP banner in the next election.
Ashton said over the last 10 years she has been proud to speak out on some of the biggest issues faced by the north.
“It’s difficult to point to just one issue that we push because a lot of the issues are very serious. Some involved only the federal government and some involved the federal government in part, but they’ve all been very important to raise at a national level,” said Ashton, pointing to the inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, women’s issues, door-to-door postal delivery and northern Manitoba’s Thompson-based CBC studio as some examples.
Ashton said her top priority recently is holding the federal government accountable to the promises it has made the region she serves.
“We’re entering the last year of this government’s mandate, and there’s been a lot of talk on infrastructure, including housing, addressing challenges on First Nations, and rhetoric around listening to the middle class, but we haven’t seen much of any of that in our region,” said Ashton.
“We still haven’t seen the influx of housing that’s required, whether it’s seniors’ or affordable housing … When talking about the middle class, a big part of that is keeping good jobs in our communities, and we haven’t seen much of anything. There’s a real concern that good jobs are leaving our communities.”
Ashton voiced frustration over the amount of time it has taken for repairs to the Hudson Bay Railway line that runs to Churchill to begin.
“What took the federal government so long? People were hurting, moving out, people had lost their jobs … [we’re] putting pressure on the government to live up to promises it made to northerners and Canadians.
Ashton said over the previous ten years as MP, she has found it important to look to the future.
“Some might say you might get jaded after 10 years of doing anything, especially politics,” said Ashton.
“I’m more idealistic in many ways, and reflecting at a 10-year celebration we did, there’s so much to fight for. There are incredible people who don’t let up who are fighting for our communities to build a better future for the north, and I’m excited to continue to work with them. I made a commitment to keep in touch and speak out for our north … and 10 years later it’s still the same.”
