Prince George – Peace River MP Bob Zimmer is replacing Cariboo – Prince George MP Todd Doherty as critic for the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor initiative in the Conservative shadow cabinet.
Doherty was made critic for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard last month.
Zimmer says he’s honoured to be taking over the portfolio.
“I think we both really care about Asia Pacific and doing our job because it affects our constituents most of all, I would say. It’s something that I definitely wanted and I’m glad that I was given the role.”
Calling for accountability and transparency will be a central part of his role.
“I think the big thing as a critic role is to make sure the government’s doing its job in terms of maintaining the infrastructure because that’s really what we’re talking about with the Gateway. We invested, when we were in government, almost $2 billion in infrastructure to make that particular gateway efficient and we want to keep it that way. It’ll be my job to make sure that they maintain that funding.”
Zimmer will also be retaining his roles as the deputy critic for Families, Children and Social Development and vice chair for the Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) Committee.
Despite his position as critic, Zimmer did have some positive things to say about the Liberal government’s handling of the Gateway.
“The Pacific NorthWest LNG decision I think was a good one. It was a narrative that we had brought to them before in that LNG can actually be good for the global environment in terms of reducing pollution in Asia. That was one of the reasons why they said yes because it is going to be positive for the globe.”
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