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Wagantall preps for Ottawa

After a busy and successful summer, MP Cathay Wagantall is ready to jump back into the political fracas in Ottawa next week. “It’s been a really profitable [summer],” she said. “Good mix of work.
Wagantall
MP Cathay Wagantall lays a flower at Neuville-Saint-Vaast during her visit to France.

After a busy and successful summer, MP Cathay Wagantall is ready to jump back into the political fracas in Ottawa next week.

“It’s been a really profitable [summer],” she said. “Good mix of work.”

The Yorkton-Melville representative with the federal Conservative Party is heading back to the House of Commons on Sept. 17. The Deputy Critic for Veterans Affairs has been working with her fellow party members to hit the ground running in Parliament next week.

“We’ve been preparing all summer,” she said.

Wagantall spent her summer reconnecting with family and friends while balancing her work responsibilities. She interacted with refugees and visited Vimy Ridge in France.

“It was very sobering,” she said.

The Conservative Party’s biggest event of the summer was its convention in Halifax in August. Hundreds of Conservatives, including Wagantall, flocked to the East Coast city for three days. Wagantall felt the convention was a great rallying point for the party.

“The atmosphere was very positive,” she said.

The Conservative convention occured during an unstable moment for the party. Maxime Bernier, the controversial MP, had just left the party to form his own political group. Wagantall was disappointed with Bernier’s actions, but she hopes the party can move on.

“Maxime... was not able to be a team player,” she said. “People feel betrayed by what he’s said and done.”

Back in Saskatchewan, Wagantall spent time meeting her constituents and listening to their concerns.

“[There was] lots of good feedback,” she said. “[There were] concerns over infrastructure, water purification... the carbon tax, and the pipeline.

“Talking to people in our constituencies is job one.”

Heading back to Parliament, Wagantall plans to continue helping with the party’s major plans and highlighting issues that matter to her riding. She wants to keep fighting against Mefloquine, a widely-criticized malaria medication used on soldiers. Wagantall will be participating in a Mefloquine rally in Ottawa.

“There’s a lot of unrest in the veterans community,” she said.

Wagantall and her party are preparing their platform for the 2019 federal election, laying out their plans for the carbon tax, immigration, regulations, and other topics.

“We want to make promises we can keep,” she said. “We’re all on the same page.”

Wagantall hopes the new batch of House of Commons sittings will highlight the topics that impact everyday people.

“There are issues that are important to Canadians,” she said.