The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Of all the traits Creighton and Denare Beach MP Jeremy Harrison possesses, it's perhaps his optimism that has best served him. It's what allowed the fresh-faced politician to last year successfully turn the tide in the vast Northern Saskatchewan riding, which in 2004 voted Conservative for the first time in over 15 years. Optimism also lets him believe that he can help change what he views as Ottawa's indifference toward Canada's fourth-largest riding. The Reminder caught up with Harrison on Monday during his visit to Creighton, where he met with more than a dozen supporters at the RJ's Motel banquet room. * * * Reminder: What do you see as their major concerns of your constituents in Creighton and Denare Beach? Harrison: Well, along with much of the northern communities, we have infrastructure issues that, you know, I deal with, from one end of my riding to the other. Of course this is a gigantic riding. It's going from the Manitoba border to the Alberta border to the territories . . . There are different interests in different parts of the constituency, of course, but honestly a lot of the issues that are important to people right across the country (are important) right across the riding Ð you know, that being scandal, corruption, waste of government money Ð those are issues are important to people here because they see their tax dollars being flushed down the toilet on gun registries and sponsorship programs and the whole rest of it. Another big issue, actually, I've found in Saskatchewan has been to do with (the federal) equalization formula. We contribute a great deal through our non-renewable natural resources, particularly in the oil and gas sector, but others as well. Newfoundland, Labrador and Nova Scotia got a separate side deal whereby those aren't included in the formula, meaning that those provinces are able to keep their revenue from those resources in the province. Which is great, I think that's the way it should be. But Saskatchewan should be getting that same deal. If we did, that would mean right there nearly a billion dollars extra a year, dollars that would stay in the province for use in the province rather than going to Ottawa to disappear into the government bureaucracy. Reminder: The Conservative nomination in this riding is yours once again. What are your priorities if re-elected? Harrison: Well, you know, it's going to be dependent as to whether we actually form (a Conservative) government or not. If we are able to form government, I think that would be obviously an incredibly positive thing and I think we have a very, very good possibility of forming the government . . . My view, and I've said it repeatedly, is that Northern Saskatchewan hasn't gotten a fair shake. This is the poorest riding in the entire country Ð 308 of 308. My view is that we do contribute a great deal to Canada, to Saskatchewan, yet we don't get a great deal back in terms of benefits. I would see my role as making sure that Northern Saskatchewan is no longer ignored by the federal government because I think the Liberals have completely ignored Northern Saskatchewan for a long, long time. I think they're completely out of touch with the interests and the issues important to people in Northern Saskatchewan, whether that be the gun registry or whether it be this new canoe registry they've been trying to bring in. I mean, this stuff is just total madness, right? See 'Issues' P.# Con't from P.# So these are the types of issues that I want to bring to the national stage, and as part of a Conservative government, and make sure that Northern Saskatchewan is no longer ignored, and it would not be under a Conservative government. Reminder: Of course you opposed the historic vote to change the definition of marriage. What did you make of the decision by your colleague, Flin Flon MP Bev Desjarlais, to go against her New Democratic Party line and also oppose the motion? Harrison: Well I actually thought that was a courageous move on Bev's part. I've made my position clear on it, and that was that I supported the traditional definition of marriage. Despite (NDP leader) Mr. (Jack) Layton's threats of kicking any dissenters out of the party and accusing them of being human-rights abusers and all manner of things, I take my hat off to her for actually voting the wishes of her constituents. I know her riding is fairly similar to my riding in terms of demographics and the economic side of things. I know in my riding, literally 90 per cent of my constituents were opposed to changing the definition of marriage, and I'm sure it was quite similar to that in her riding . . . Reminder: What have you learned in your first year as MP? Harrison: Well, you know, I think we've had a pretty productive first year. I had worked on the Hill prior to getting there, so I was familiar with what the work of an MP entailed, and there haven't been any real surprises on that front. You know, one of the things I've appreciated, though, has been being away from Ottawa because I much more prefer being in the riding with the real people rather than, you know, the Ottawa mindset and the Ottawa mentality, which leads to things like canoe registries, which are just utterly crazy. A lot of bureaucrats there have spent way too much time in their office towers and way too little actually talking to real people Reminder: When do you expect an election to be called? Harrison: Well, I've almost stopped guessing when there's going to be an election. You know, the prime minister said that there's going to be an election 30 days after the Gomery report comes out. That's scheduled to come out on December 15. There's been very vocal representations from members of the Liberal caucus that they do not want to be going into an election campaign at that time of the year. The prime minister himself was trying to weasel out of it, his commitment. He goes on national television and begs for an additional (few) months in office, yet now he's trying to weasel out of it. He said, though, we're going to go (to the polls) 30 days after Gomery. I'll believe it when I see it. But if that is the case, then we'll probably be looking at an election call in mid-January going into probably the end of February for the actual vote date. Reminder: What is something you don't like about this job? Harrison: Well, I don't think there's anything I really dislike intensely about it. There's a lot of travel involved and I don't get to spend as much time with my wife as I probably would like to, but you know, that's the cost of public life. Reminder: Is conservatism growing in Canada? Harrison: I really do think it is. You go to events with other MPs or you go to events with Stephen Harper, and you just see the energy that's there. You know, hundreds and hundreds of people. We were down in Regina a couple of weeks ago and there were 450 people at just a little barbecue and, you know, you can really feel the energy and you can feel the drive among grassroots people that seek change in this country Ð the people that are demanding a better country, that are demanding better from their government than what they've been getting, and I really think that we're going to see that continue and it will be reflected in the next election. Reminder: Would you care to make a prediction in terms of seats? Harrison: It's way too early. Things can change so quickly.
