James Moore is a former federal cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and a columnist for CTVNews.ca.
By the end of the day on April 28, the votes will be counted and the next occupants of those 343 green velvet chairs in the Parliament of Canada will be chosen.
While the media coverage of our campaigns is almost exclusively leader-focused, we are electing a full complement of parliamentarians to serve in our parliamentary system. We may have American presidential style election campaigns and politics that are leader obsessed, but we still legislate through a parliamentary system.
Much has been written about the shrinking role of our Parliament in terms of policy development, rational and effective scrutiny of government, and even as a sincere institution for rhetorical accountability -- and the criticisms are all fair. So, what do we about it? Much can be written and said about that as well, but here’s a first step: elect highly capable, substantive and earnest members of Parliament of good intentions and character.
In every election we have an opportunity to choose people who will have the privilege of sitting in parliament, and, just as important, the responsibility to reject the unworthy. We have, in every election, an opportunity to choose new voices that will make the country better by making parliament more meaningful.
Also, a word about my home province of British Columbia. B.C. is Canada’s third largest province with rapidly growing suburbs and cities. It has high in-migration from the rest of the country, world class multimodal ports and an increasingly diversified economy in resource extraction, tourism, professional services, health sciences, technology and manufacturing. And, importantly, in a world where Canada will need to trade more commodities with different global markets beyond Donald Trump’s America, British Columbia’s contribution to Canada’s future is critical.
So, in this election, and into the next parliament, British Columbia and Canada needs to have impressive representatives who understand the mission of building a strong partnership between B.C. and the rest of Canada to benefit everyone. This requires people who West Coasters can trust, and who Canadians can count on to faithfully represent Western interests.
Humbly, I’d like to propose two such voices from British Columbia who should be members of the coming 45th Parliament.
The first is Ellis Ross, running in the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley in northwest B.C. Ellis was twice elected to the B.C. Legislature for Skeena (2017 and 2020). Nothing came to him easily in life and he comes from a working-class background in the north working in construction, beach-combing and hand logging. He served on the Haisla Nation Council for eight years and was later elected and re-elected as Chief Councillor for the Haisla nation.
Ellis is a pro-growth optimist who wants to get things done. This is a drive that is far too rare in government and something we need a lot more of in Canada if we are to better shield ourselves from our unreliable trading partners. It is also an attitude we need more of if we are to take advantage of getting responsibly managed resources to cross-Canada and global markets. For years, he has invested endless time and energy into “getting to yes” on the LNG opportunity for Canada. And for him, it is not just an economic pursuit, it is personal for shared prosperity, for indigenous reconciliation, for the wealth creation and distribution in the north and to aboriginal communities that are too often left behind.
I would love to see Ellis Ross elected to the Parliament of Canada on April 28. It would be good for Canada, good for British Columbia and a meaningful shift to an optimistic growth agenda that we so desperately need.
The second new voice I would like to see elected is also a former member of the B.C. legislature, Iain Black from Coquitlam. I first met Iain when I was running for re-election back in 2004 and we have been friends for the past 21 years. As our lives and careers have criss-crossed in the public and private sectors I have come to appreciate his strength, capacity and ability to get things done. Someone wise once said that there are two types of people in politics: those who want to BE something, and those who want to DO something. We need far more of the latter and that is who Iain is.
Iain is a former two-term MLA and cabinet minister under Premier Gordon Campbell, and he brings serious governmental experience to the table. He is also the former CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, which is western Canada’s largest business association. He successfully grew the organization to staggering heights and success during his leadership and was a tireless advocate for an issue whose time may have finally come: breaking down barriers to east-west internal trade in Canada.
Iain’s experience in government, success in the private sector, work ethic and ability are a rare combination, and he would add incredible value to this next parliament, and I hope he is elected.
As a former Conservative Member of Parliament and cabinet minister, feel free to take my two recommendations with a grain of salt, or dismiss them out of hand as you like. I believe our Parliament can best be made better by the boosting the quantity of quality people we choose to occupy the institution.
As a British Columbian who wants my province to grow, prosper and be a voice for solutions that serve the whole country, I sincerely hope these two fine candidates earn the trust and votes needed to serve in the next parliament.
