Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek hosted a virtual town hall meeting over Zoom and Facebook Live on Wednesday, June 2 to answer constituent questions and provide an update on parliamentary happenings.
This is the second Zoom meeting MP Kurek has held since March 2021, although he has held several town hall meetings via Facebook since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not the last year and a half anybody has expected, but it’s been an honour to fight for you amidst all the challenges and be your voice in our capital,” MP Kurek said as he opened the meeting.
During his opening remarks, MP Kurek acknowledged the mass grave at the former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. where the bodies of 215 children were found on Thursday, May 27.
“It’s unknown how many more sites like this exist across the country, and it certainly has touched Canadians from coast to coast. It’s important for us to acknowledge these aspects of our history,” he stated, noting his previous work with the Saskatchewan Legislature to designate the cemetery footprint of the former Regina Industrial Indian School.
Among other topics which MP Kurek addressed were a misunderstanding over Motion 118, which he has received numerous emails and Facebook messages from constituents. MP Kurek clarified it was a “non-binding motion” from the Bloc Quebecois party warning the Liberal party from calling an election during a global pandemic as a political ploy.
“I want to make sure you understand very, very clearly democracy is still strong in this country and Conservatives are still fighting for you,” he stated.
He also addressed his disappointment with the Liberal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic-from their slow response to the global pandemic, to vaccine supply and distribution concerns-and his concern over the federal government supporting two pharmaceutical companies in Eastern Canada over a Calgary-based company in developing ways to treat COVID-19.
MP Kurek also spoke on his opposition to vaccine passports, calling it a “grey area.”
One topic, which was previously brought up during MP Kurek’s March 2021 virtual town hall, was Bill C-21.
MP Kurek voiced his disappointment over the bill, saying, “I am a licensed firearm owner and I understand your concerns. It is unbelievably frustrating to see how it’s law-abiding firearm owners that have the target on their back, no pun intended, by this Liberal government.”