The MLAs for Kootenay East and Columbia River-Revelstoke both congratulated Rob Morrison on his victory and spoke to their thoughts on the 2019 federal election.
Tom Shypitka, MLA for Kootenay East said he feels Morrison’s strength is in his passion for the region.
“I think where Rob can really help is in our natural resources and promoting what makes our economy strong here in the Kootenays and getting that message clear to Ottawa.”
Doug Clovechok, MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke also spoke to Morrison’s focus in Kootenay-Columbia.
“One thing that impressed me about Rob Morrison was that he’s focused on the riding and not Ottawa,” Clovechok told MyEastKootenayNow.com. “For me, as the MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke, that’s very important for me too.”
Clovechok spoke of his optimism for Morrison’s future in politics.
“I know how hard Rob worked. To become an MLA it took me five years to get there, so I understand how hard work pays off,” added Clovechok. “I’m really excited for Rob, I think he’s going to do a fantastic job. I just really want to congratulate him and his team for the amount of work they put into it because it was incredible.”
Clovechok also gave his praises to the people of Kootenay-Columbia for the voter turnout.
“I’m so proud of the people of the two provincial ridings and for the federal riding for the turnout. It was above the national average, I think that speaks highly to the engagement that we have from the people that we serve.”
More: Kootenay-Columbia Voter Turnout Over 72% (October 22, 2019)
During the campaign and following the election, Skypitka said he saw a lot of divisive comments.
“You see a lot of folks that are very passionate about how the election turned out. Whether it wasn’t what they wanted federally, or it wasn’t what they wanted locally with the conservative government. I see people talking about the separation of the country, or we’re going back to a draconian regime with the conservative government,” explained Shypitka. “It’s a very divisive issue, politics. I would like everyone to just kind of relax, take a deep breath, believe in the process, believe in democracy. We’re all in it for only one reason that that’s to make Canada better. Through that, we should just have a little bit of faith.”
Clovechok also gave his opinions on the results on the federal level.
“What Canadians let Trudeau know is that they still wanted him to do some things but they wanted some oversight on that. You saw a jump in the numbers of the conservative seats as well. It’s going to be an interesting next few years,” Clovechok said.
Both Shypitka and Clovechok said they congratulated Morrison, and look forward to working with him as they continue to serve at the provincial level.
More: Rob Morrison Wins Kootenay-Columbia Riding (October 21, 2019)
