Ellis Ross is in Ottawa today, to swear in as MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley. He’s also been given a Shadow Ministry appointment - as Critic for the Environment and Climate Change.
Ross says this appointment means a lot to him.
“Because that’s where I got my start. I actually started looking into environmental issues in Kitimat back in 2003, 2004, which then led me to, to understand what Aboriginal rights and title was. But really to understand all of that, I had to understand project development as well as the economy. So really brings me back to my roots.”
Ross says his past experience as MLA for Skeena will help in this role. He also says he wants to know where Canada is heading.
“The liberals made some pretty heavy promises in terms of getting the economy going. Given that the United States was imposing tariffs on Canada. Now, the liberals promised to get the economy going by invoking the Emergencies Act, which I’m incredibly curious about, because invoking the emergencies act usually means that you want to override some rules.
So I’m kind of curious what kind of rules will you override? Will it be environmental assessment rules? Will it be procedures? Will it be policies? Will it be workers rights, will it be Aboriginal rights? I have never seen any government in Canada invoke the emergency Act just to get an economy going. So there’s a number of different things I’ll be looking for in terms of, where does Canada go in terms of its economy, as well as its trade with the rest of the world?”
The House of Commons will return on May 26, which will mark the first day of the 45th Parliament.