A lot has changed in 6 weeks

My last report as a

Member of Parliament was on Aug. 11. While that was just six weeks ago, it is remarkable what has happened in that time.

Locally, we witnessed unprecedented wildfire activity, in the Okanagan, as well as across B.C.

Smoke and even ash filled our valley bottoms in ways not previously experienced.

Internationally, we witnessed the Taliban take over Afghanistan, leaving many citizens who had helped Canadians behind.

Vaccine passports are now in use in B.C. and in other parts of Canada, while our intensive care unit beds are fast filling up with citizens infected with COVID as the Delta variant spreads in this fourth wave of the pandemic.

Despite all of these things going on, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided now would be a good time to call an election in his quest for a majority government.

As we now know, six weeks and $610 million dollars later, Trudeau’s gamble for a majority was unsuccessful.

On that note, I would like to sincerely thank the many citizens of the Central Okanagan-SimilkameenNicola riding for your vote and support in this pandemic election.

I would also like to thank the other candidates as well as the many volunteers who help run our campaigns and do their part for our Canadian democracy.

While at the federal level, this election has been described as being divisive, and even angry, at the local level our online debates were always civil and constructive.

Where do we go from here?

Parliament will need to be recalled, a new Speaker elected, and a new throne speech delivered.

The throne speech will be of interest given that this new Parliament will be a strong minority in favour of the Liberal government.

A strong minority means the Liberals only need the support of one opposition party to pass legislation while all three of the Opposition parties would need to be united to oppose government legislation.

This is fundamentally the same situation that existed in the previous Parliament.

This means that the upcoming throne speech only need accommodate the interests of one opposition party although there is nothing preventing the prime minister from offering up potential legislation that may be supported by the other parties.

Are you satisfied with the results of this pandemic election?