Nanaimo-Ladysmith's MP definitely has some idea of what she might expect in the House of Commons in an election year.
The NDP's Lisa Marie Barron, elected in 2021, suggested that the work environment in Parliament has become more challenging of late, as the kind of insults being thrown around in the house seem unnecessary and personal. With a federal election coming no later than this fall, she's not optimistic that it's going to get any better.
"Across party lines, there's good people. But the toxicity has increased significantly," she said. "I have challenges with the leadership of the Conservative Party specifically. It's a leadership style of division B次元官网网址� It's just the opposite of what Canadians need right now."
But her party also takes issue with the leadership of the Liberals.
"This has been brewing for a while," Barron said, prior to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation Monday. "We hear from Canadians all the time B次元官网网址� I definitely hear that Canadians are disappointed in Trudeau, that they feel that it's time for him to move on."
All cards are on the table for her party, she said, but it's not the primary focus for the MP and her colleagues at the moment.
"We know there's an election coming up in 2025 regardless of any of this, and my hope is that we see as much [as possible] put into place for people here for that election time," Barron said.
She pointed to some "important wins" for Canadians over the past year, and suggested her party can take credit for its work on the national dental care plan, coverage of contraceptives and diabetes medication, and expansion of childcare and school food programs. Barron said at a recent community event, a constituent was telling her about accessing dental care for the first time in years, another person overheard and mentioned a similar story, and then a third person chimed in.
"I could go on and on and on for about an hour of all the things that we have been pushing to see put into place and that are rolling out or have already been rolled out, which is going to make a big difference for Canadians," Barron said.
She's pleased that the national GST holiday will bring some "instant relief;" however, her party would have preferred for GST to be permanently removed from more essential goods and services.
"Ultimately the Liberals are in power, they're going to decide to deliver it in the way that they decide to deliver it," she said. "I'll support Canadians getting a break, which is what I did, but we want more than what we saw."
She praised a $5-million commitment in the fall economic statement for a Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank distribution centre, something for which she'd been advocating, but she expressed disappointment that the economic statement didn't allocate housing accelerator funding to the City of Nanaimo.
"We need that federal leadership and investment because there's a downloading of responsibility that's happening, too, where we're seeing municipalities bearing the brunt of so much because the federal government isn't doing their part in their responsibility when it comes to housing."
Real estate investors continue to benefit from a system that's set up to favour them, she said, and it remains a frustration for her.
Barron added that the "root and the base" of her work in 2025 will be trying to make things more affordable for people. This election year she'll try to make sure her constituents' voices are heard and that supports and programs are put in place that help people.
"We know that people are really hard-hit right now in Nanaimo-Ladysmith and across CanadaB次元官网网址�" she said. "It's a challenging time for so many and my goodness, I can't reiterate that more."
