Black Press Staff:
Member of Parliament Blaine Calkins will be seeking his second term in office as the representative of the Wetaskiwin constituency when residents go to the polls on Oct. 14, and by all indications, he should walk away with another overwhelming majority.
A former college instructor, Calkins was born in Lacombe and raised on a farm north of the community. Currently, he still resides in Lacombe with his wife Barb and their three children.
A public servant in one form or another for his entire life, in addition to being the MP for Wetaskiwin, Calkins has also served on the Lacombe Town Council and several other committees related to the Town.
“I have always been a fiscal conservative but in 2005 when I ran for the nomination for the Conservative Party in this riding, I felt there was a need to help families,” Calkins said when asked what attracted him to his party. “As my family’s sole income earner and the father of three young children, I knew first hand the bite federal taxes were taking from my pay cheque. Stephen Harper offered a change. He planned to make families a priority and our Conservative government did just that.”
Before Parliament was dissolved prior to the latest election call, Calkins was a member of the Standing Committee on National Defense as well as the Environment and Sustainable Development and most recently a member of committees involved with the portfolios of Justice and Human Rights and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
As for the most important issue facing Canadians in the upcoming election, Calkins pointed to the economy and added that with strong leadership, a financial crisis such as the one currently gripping the United States can be avoided north of the border.
“The economy is the most important question in this election. The fundamentals of the Canadian economy are sound but the last things we need are tax hikes, deficits, reckless spending and risky economic schemes. During this campaign, the policies we are proposing follow along the same fiscally responsible path that we set out in 2006. They are clear, affordable, practical and achievable,” he said. “People on both sides of the border are concerned over the fluctuations in the marketplace which is why we need a steady confident hand and sound economic policies so that Canadians can move forward with confidence and certainty.”