Agassiz MLA Eileen Clarke will not be running in the provincial election next year. Clarke explains her decision.
“Well, I wouldn’t say that it’s that I don’t want to, but I have chosen not to,” says Clarke. “It’s a big decision. I’m really enjoying my time in the provincial government, especially under the leadership of Minister Stefanson and the portfolio as municipal relations minister. It’s certainly a place where I feel very comfortable and I’m enjoying the work. However, four years is a long commitment. Another four years and I’m just not prepared to do that.”
She says she’s worked for 50 years in the adult world as of this year and would like to take life a little more easily and enjoy her senior years.
“I have absolutely no plans,” continues Clarke. “Sometimes, just to be able to drink an extra cup of coffee in the morning without rushing off to meetings or getting up one day without any particular plans, and just choosing what I do or what I choose not to do is a luxury I’ve never had in my life. I’ve never had a lot of days off. I’ve never had a lot of vacations and life moves very quickly, I have found. It’s just time to take a different pace.”
Looking back in her political career, Clarke says there are many highlights.
“I have a very large collection of photos, probably well over 10,000 and, the memories, I can’t begin to count,” notes Clarke. “I don’t even know how to analyze it. I’ve had the great opportunity of working with 137 Manitoba municipalities, for sure, Also, First Nations and Métis people of Manitoba, the Inuit… And during COVID, I added to that list working with all Hutterite colonies in Manitoba. So, I just feel that I’ve had a very broad political career and happy to leave when I’m feeling well. I feel like I have accomplished more than I ever set out to do. It just seems like a really good time to say thank you to Manitoba and see what’s next.”
Clarke adds she knows she’s going to miss the role, noting she enjoys a busy life.
“I enjoy what I do, but it’s not always healthy,” continues Clarke. “I’ve come to realize that as well, so it’s hard to quit or walk away from something that you really enjoy. Unfortunately, it’s not like some occupations where you can go to halftime or that type of thing. It’s either you are an MLA or you aren’t an MLA. It is difficult and I know there’s going to be lots of days I’d just love to go back, but there comes a time when this decision has to be made, and I just feel that this is the best time.”
She says we live in a great province and we have come through some very, very difficult times during COVID-19.
“To live through that through a political lens has been really an education,” notes Clarke. “It’s pushed me to levels of patience that I never knew existed. But you know, I’ve had some great opportunities and I’ve had some fantastic opportunities. So, I’m just really grateful for all of that. Not everybody gets to live that type of life and I feel very blessed.”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
