Gerry Ritz has kicked off his re-election campaign.
The incumbent MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster says his campaign’s message is to stay the course.
“[The message is] continuing to make sure the Canadian economy grows, that it strengthens, as we’ve been seeing since the 2008 recession,” Ritz said. “We’re bumping along like everybody else, but I look at the economy in Japan, I look at the growth in the U.S, which is happening, but it’s very slight, I look at what’s happening in Europe with the Greece situation and others – we’re doing OK. Sometimes it’s hard to gauge, with your day-to-day workload that people are doing out there, but at the end of the day, we’re living in the greatest country in the world.”
Ritz also took issue with some early campaign comments by Liberal opponent Larry Ingram, who criticized him for selling the Canadian Wheat Board. Ritz says Ingram doesn’t have his facts straight.
“I think he’s totally wrong,” said Ritz. “For starters, this is not a sale. This is a commercialization. The Canadian Wheat Board still exists through the farmer’s trust attached to G3. That’s the new entity that was formed in order to build more terminals across Western Canada… At the end of the day, famers will be better served having a fourth global-sized competitor vying for their product.”
Ritz also says he looks forward to discussing the issue with Ingram at upcoming All-Candidates Forums.
The date of the vote is October 19th.