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As a Senator, one of my most important roles is to stand up for the people of Saskatchewan in Parliament.

I recently delivered a major speech in the Senate that called attention to the Trudeau government’s continued neglect of Western Canada and specifically Saskatchewan. 

Because even while the government is spending billions of dollars during this pandemic, two major sectors of our economy have received minimal assistance and they are two industries most crucial to Saskatchewan: agriculture and the energy sector.   

The Trudeau government should be especially concerned now about the agricultural sector and our food security.

The agricultural sector has been hard hit during the pandemic, with outbreaks at meat processing plants and among temporary agricultural workers, the closure of restaurants, institutions and hospitality industry customers, leading to a growing and problematic surplus of food and animals.

While the Trudeau government did promise an aid package for Canada’s farmers, it was a scant 10 per cent of the aid requested by a major agricultural producers’ organization. 

Even before the arrival of COVID-19, Saskatchewan was reeling from the downturn in the oil and gas sector. The bottom-of-the-barrel world oil prices, combined with the anti-energy policies of the Trudeau government seemingly hellbent on landlocking western resources, left people in a province like Saskatchewan with no cushion to withstand the devastating onslaught of COVID-19. 

Finance Minister Bill Morneau had the audacity to make the empty promise in the Senate Chamber that the Liberal government would deliver aid for the oil and gas sector within hours or days.

That was on March 25. Almost 130 days later, we’re still waiting.  

The Trudeau government has done nothing to specifically address the needs of devastated and unemployed oil and gas workers or the struggling small and medium-sized oil and gas companies this pandemic has affected. 

The closure of these businesses has chipped away at Saskatchewan communities depending on the oil and gas industry to survive.

Long-time, previously thriving businesses have been brought to their knees by the cumulative effect of a stagnant energy industry and COVID-19.

Businesses that were family-run for generations – hubs of the community – have closed their doors for good, because they can’t wait any longer for assistance. Their employees are now jobless and may be in danger of losing their homes.   

The Trudeau government’s empty promises won’t pay the bills. Now is the time for action. Our Conservative caucus will continue to fight for the interests of Saskatchewanians and all Canadians.