By Pepper Parr
July 7, 2106
BURLINGTON, ON
It certainly wasn’t her first time before an audience speaking but it was an occasion when the Burlington Chamber of Commerce got to grill MP Karina Gould on the issues that mattered to them.
The under 30 member of parliament has some work to do on a number of files but doesn’t need any help knowing when to move a matter off her plate.
In this photograph, Burlington MP Karina Gould explains to a listener how to get a job done. She appeared at the Chamber of Commerce BBQ eaarlier this week to talk about her work and the speech she heard United States president Obama give to the House of Commons.
When asked about hydro rates she was quick to explain that it was a provincial matter. When asked to talk about cross border issues that impacted Burlington based corporations Gould realized that she had a lot to learn – and hopefully she makes a point of getting back to Jim Peters who explained that he exports 75% of his production and expects that to grow to 90% in the very near future.
Moving senior staff back and forth across the borders to deal with human resource matters is something the Americans are very touchy about. It is a tricky matter and one that business people across the country have to deal with on a regular basis. They could use some help.
The Chamber of Commerce holds a BBQ every summer – the idea is to grill both the food and the Member of Parliament.
Gould held her own but there are a number of files she is going to need to brush up on.
As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development et la Francophonie, Gould gets to put her experience with trade matters to good use when she travels with the Minister.
She took part in an international conference in Turkey several months ago and expects to spend some time with the Minister in Kenya soon.
It will be interesting to see how she performs when she meets with the Chamber of Commerce next summer. They will want her to be more on top of their concerns next year.
