(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

RED DEER-LACOMBE

Meet the candidate: Blaine Calkins, Conservative Party of Canada

Oct 12, 2019 | 11:00 AM

Blaine Calkins says he’s as motivated to be a Member of Parliament today as he was when he first ran in 2006.

“The same things that motivated be back then are motivating me now,” he says.

“Responsible governance, I want to focus on keeping our economy strong, creating jobs and growth. I was motivated to get rid of the wheat board monopoly back in the day, and we still have a number of problems with our agricultural sector,” he says. “We’ve lost market access… I want to regain those markets for our canola producers, beef producers, lentil producers, and pork producers.”

On the oil and gas sector, Calkins adds, “It makes absolutely no sense that we’re not trading east and west with our fellow Canadians when it comes to energy. There’s not one molecule of Alberta energy in a gas tank in Atlantic Canada and that doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Calkins, a former oil patch worker, was also asked about his stance on climate change and what he believes Canada needs to do better in terms of meeting or not worrying as much about targets.

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“With my background, I take the perspective that we should always be using our energy, the finite resources we have, especially fossil fuels, as efficiently and cleanly as possible. That’s what I like about Andrew (Scheer)’s plan. Instead of being ashamed of our resources and the technology — Canada is only 1.5 per cent of the global emissions — we might as well use the technology we have here in Canada rather than just sending raw resources overseas.”

Calkins points out the generating stations in Genesee, AB as examples of technology Canada should have pride in, adding the Conservatives will get rid of federal the carbon tax, as well as the Liberals’ Bill C-69 and C-48 (tanker ban).

“You don’t have to hate oil and gas in order to encourage wind and solar,” he says. “They’re all part of the solution, but the rhetoric around this stuff, the alarmism, is simply getting to the point that it’s nonsensical.”

Calkins calls Scheer’s agenda a responsible one, and one that all Canadians should get behind.