Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod to two new federal government positions.
She is now parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Labour, and parliamentary secretary to the Department of Western Economic Diversification.
McLeod says she received briefings from Labour Minister Kellie Leitch in Ottawa on Sept. 26 and from Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification Michelle Rempel on Sept. 27.
Typically, a parliamentary secretary has some specific files to focus on within the minister's office to assist them, but she explains it's still too soon for her to be apprised of what those might be.
"Both roles have a lot of complexity to them, and your first responsibility, of course, is to be there on behalf of the minister when she can't be there, whether it be in Question Period, whether it be announcements, whether it be at conferences. So, you are the stand-in for the minister."
The local MP adds she leaves her previous role as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Revenue with a sense of accomplishment.
"One of the areas that I was pleased to focus on with that role was taking the work of the red tape reduction commission and actually filtering it in – because, of course, the Canada Revenue Agency [CRA] was one of the priority areas in terms of small business and red tape, and you know, I think we made significant strides."
The CRA and its tax collection is "hugely critical" to Canadians, she notes.
McLeod says one measure of this success was the Golden Scissors Award revenue Minister Gail Shea received from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business last year for reducing red tape for small business.
"It's a very important piece that makes a difference in the lives of our small businesses, which, of course, in our riding, is hugely important. The less they are overwhelmed by paperwork, the more they are able to focus on ... growing their business."
Meanwhile, she is looking forward to her new postings, working with the Labour Ministry on employment standards and labour relations, and with Western Economic Diversification to improve the long-term economic competitiveness of the West.
"Certainly both of these roles are going to be very interesting, great learning opportunities and, hopefully, areas where important work gets done that impacts the lives of every day Canadians."