MOOSOMIN — Souris-Moose Mountain MP Dr. Robert Kitchen says he plans to run again in the next federal election.
Kitchen was first elected in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019 and 2021. In 2021 he was elected with 76 per cent of the vote, the largest plurality in Canada.
Following is an interview with Dr. Kitchen.
Have you made an announcement about your intentions for the next federal election?
I haven’t done any big announcement, but the bottom line is that I’m running again. So we’re moving forward and we’re ready should an election be called tomorrow. We’re ready to go and that’s the plan at this point in time. As to when the election will happen, who knows? One reason I want to run again is I want to be in government.
Did you have to think about it or was it always your plan to run again?
No, I’ve always been thinking that way, so it’s been the plan and there obviously are other issues that happened and you look at those and family issues and things like that. But at this point in time everything looks like that’s the plan, so hopefully, we can be in government and we can go from there.
Why did you decide to enter politics in the first place?
Well, I got into it because it was another avenue for me to help my family, for lack of a better word, which is what I consider my constituency. At the time they were my patients when I was in practice and my family has expanded out to the whole constituency, and as MP I do what I can do to try and help those where I can. I’ve still got that goal and ultimately I still believe that the seat I sit in doesn’t belong to me — it belongs to you and the constituents and that’s what I will continue to believe.
If the Conservatives win the next election, how different will your job as an MP be if you’re on the government side of the House?
That I don’t know. What I anticipate is that definitely there will be different avenues in the sense that I believe I will have a lot better ability to talk with people in various areas, whether it’s immigration or the economy or the oil and gas industry etc. Ultimately that will allow me to get even that much closer to where hopefully decisions are being made.
What have you learned about the world from being in politics? What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from being an MP?
One of the things that I’ve always believed in, is that we need to learn something new every day and that I am doing. Every day I’m learning at least one new thing and I’m continuing to do that. There are so many things that I’ve learned, whether it’s from the government point of view, whether it’s from a political point of view, or even a personal point of view. There are so many avenues where, in the role that I’m in, I can step up and speak on my constituents’ behalf so that their voice is being heard.
Obviously over these eight years now, coming up on exactly eight years in October and going into the ninth, the reality is that I look at where I could have a say and where I could be hearing from my constituents and addressing the challenges of Covid and the huge impact that that had on Canadians and the riding. It was immense.
And then you throw in the challenges that we have with this present government and the steps that they’re trying to take to shut down the oil and gas sector and the huge impact that is going to have on constituents and the coal industry and the energy sector.
Those are the things that I want to champion. A lot of people in the East don’t understand when they talk about all that’s being done and they hear these big numbers of billions of dollars that are being put out there. I’m all in favour if there’s an industry that wants to produce windmills or solar panels, I support that aspect of things.
What needs to be spoken about, though, is when they say that it’s a billion-dollar industry that’s going to go to the riding, in fact, it’s probably going to be only five million dollars of that because the majority is being built somewhere else and is not being created in the riding. Those windmills are not being built in Souris-Moose Mountain. They’re being imported from somewhere else and during the time frame when they’re being set up, even when that happens, a lot of those people that are coming to put those in place are living somewhere else, and other than the short time that they’re in the riding, they’re probably staying in Regina in hotels there, which is helping Saskatchewan but it doesn’t help my constituency. They aren’t hiring every mechanic in the area. They aren’t hiring every welder in the area. That is what’s really heartbreaking when this present government talks about all of these things, but they’re not creating jobs and helping the people who are employed and working hard and within my riding.
So what do you enjoy most about politics?
I enjoy the ability to talk to my constituents. I’m a people person and I like talking to my constituents and hearing what they have to say.
That’s what I love about the party that I’m part of.
I believe that we all have differences of opinion in many ways, but being able to have that conversation and be respectful of that is the most important part of me.
What do you dislike about politics?
It can be tiring. It’s a lot of back and forth. My family is back in Estevan and so not being around them is tough. I have four grandchildren now, so I miss being around them and watching them grow up and being closer to them. When I get home there are usually events that I need to get to or people I need to meet and that’s a challenge to balance that and my family.
What’s life like day-to-day as an MP?
Like kids in school or university, I have a schedule and it’s basically going from seven in the morning to eight or nine at night—sometimes longer.
Today is a prime example. We had caucus meetings at eight o’clock this morning and that was just Saskatchewan Caucus and then we had National Caucus meeting, question period and we just finished that, just finished the votes and I’m back in my office now trying to get caught up on paperwork over the next two hours.
From there, I go to two meetings before 7:30 where I’m on the Health Committee.
So I have Health Committee from 7:30 until 9:30 tonight and then I turn around, walk back to my apartment and I get ready to do something similar tomorrow.
That’s our days and Friday is the same thing, then boom, jumping on a plane to fly back home.
That’s a 10-hour trek to leave from here in downtown Ottawa just to get to Estevan.
So why do you do it? It sounds like a lot of work.
It is but I’m still smiling and I’m still happy. As I said, I’m learning something new and the day that I stop learning something new every day, that’s the day for someone else to take over.
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