Mr. Speaker, I rise to thank the constituents of my wonderful riding of Red Deer—Mountain View for re-electing me to the House of Commons. I am proud to continue representing Red Deer and Red Deer county, with the addition of the county of Mountain View and the beautiful communities of Olds, Carstairs, Didsbury, Sundre, and Cremona.
Red Deer—Mountain View forms a large of the central Alberta economy. Our riding depends on agriculture, natural resource development, and manufacturing. In recent years, we have faced a number of issues, most notably low oil prices and grain shipment backlogs. This is why I was quite concerned that in the government's throne speech, there was no mention of agriculture or natural resources.
Since these issues are ones that affect our region directly, but do not seem to warrant the Liberals' attention, I have made a commitment to ensure that support for these sectors becomes a priority. It is important that the government respects and does not forget central Alberta or the thousands of Canadians who depend on the agriculture or energy sector to put food on their families' tables.