All four Okanagan MPs named to federal government critic roles

Tracy Gray’s experience as a federal politician is limited, having been on the job as the MP for Kelowna-Lake Country for just 39 days.

On Friday, though, Gray was elevated to a position in the Conservative Party’s shadow cabinet, as she was named official shadow minister for interprovincial trade.

A shadow minister’s job is to critique the ruling party’s minister.

“I am honored to have been asked to serve at this level,” Gray said in a press release.

“Being in the shadow cabinet will bring the voices of Kelowna-Lake Country and British Columbia forward at an elevated level to hold the government to account.”

In related news, three other Okanagan MPs were also selected to take on shadow roles.

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On Thursday, South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings will be the NDP’s party critic for natural resources and the deputy critic for transport.

Cannings was also the NDP’s natural resources critic in the previous parliament.

“It’s a privilege to continue serving in our caucus and I’m very pleased that (federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh) has trusted me to take on these two important roles,” said Cannings.

Also Friday, Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola MP Dan Albas was named the Conservatives’ shadow critic for employment, workforce, development and disability inclusion.

“I will work tirelessly to hold the government to account and make sure that Canadians can get ahead and that those in our struggling energy and forestry sectors can get back to work,” said Albas.

And, lastly, North Okanagan-Shuswap MP Mel Arnold will be the Conservatives’ shadow critic for fisheries and oceans plus the Canadian Coast Guard.

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Gray defeated Liberal incumbent Stephen Fuhr in Kelowna-Lake Country in the Oct. 21 federal election. Gray captured 45.7 per cent of the vote, with Fuhr second at 32.6 per cent. Justin Kulik of the NDP was third at 12.1 per cent.

Gray is a former Kelowna city councillor and business owner, having founded Discover Wines Ltd., which opened in 2003 and closed in 2016 after the wine industry’s desire to move VQA licenses into grocery stores.

Prior to that, she had spent years in the wine industry.

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“The free movement of goods, services and people across provincial borders is imperative,” said Gray.

“There is no secret that our country is currently divided. A lot of our constituents here have strong ties to Alberta and Saskatchewan, and have similar concerns.

“As an entrepreneur working in the British Columbia wine industry, I saw firsthand how interprovincial trade barriers created more barriers than opportunities and made it challenging to expand markets for our local British Columbia wineries.”

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