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.
Flin Flon MP Bev Desjarlais has secured the NDP nomination for the Churchill constituency, hoping to step up to bat for Northern Manitoba for a third consecutive term. The popular incumbent, who faced no challengers in her nomination bid, is already being touted as the odds-on favourite for the MP position by a number of observers. "I'm enjoying the job," said Desjarlais, a Thompson resident, yesterday. "I've had great support from the communities and people in the riding. I'm looking forward to going at it one more time, for sure." One of Desjarlais main priorities, should voters keep her in Parliament, is to ensure the continuation of the universal public health care system. "I don't think Paul Martin has made people feel comfortable about the public health care system," she said. "We've just seen the move of a Canadian Alliance member to the Liberals. He was an Alliance member who said we should privatize health care." Desjarlais' second key priority is to to try and get more federal dollars funneled into municipalities to pay for infrastructure projects. "The area that municipalities have keyed in on the most is infrastructure Ñ roads, sewer and water," she said. Another concern of Desjarlais' is that Prime Minister Paul Martin is moving toward a more American style of government. It promises to be an interesting year in Ottawa with the apparent forthcoming of legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. As well, the same-sex marriage issue still lingers. While Desjarlais' opposes same-sex marriage due to her religious beliefs, she adamantly supports the idea of not sticking criminal records on people caught with small amounts of pot. "... what we've seen are huge numbers of often young people who end up with criminal records who are affected for the rest of their lives," she said. The MP spoke of police being bogged down with marijuana cases and compared Canada's current pot laws to prohibition, the United States' failed effort to ban alcohol in the 1920s and early '30s. See 'NDP' P.# Con't from P.# As far as the future potential for complete legalization of marijuana, Desjarlais said she doesn't believe that's something Canadians want to see at this point in time. What they do want to see, in her view, is a greater NDP presence at the federal level. She feels her party benefits from a perceived shift to the right by the Liberals and the move of some angry conservatives away from the Conservative Party of Canada. "It's looking very good. Our polling is very positive," she said. "Realistically, we see ourselves in the position of official opposition." Elected to Parliament after defeating Liberal Elijah Harper in 1997, Desjarlais was reelected in 2000 with 45 per cent of the vote in the Churchill constituency. That year, Harper received 32 per cent of the vote, Canadian Alliance nominee Jason Shaw got 18 per cent, and PC nominee Doreen Murray received five per cent.
