Foothills MP, John Barlow, is taking on the Shadow Ministry of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour after serving a year as the Associate Shawdow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food.

"I just got the call from Andrew Scheer last night (Thursday)," said Barlow. "He asked me if I would make the move over and some of the reasons why. I am excited about the opportunity and when you have the trust of the leader of the party to take on a role like this it is great."

This means Barlow will no longer be on the agriculture file.

The Labour portfolio is not completely new, as he worked on it for a year after the 2015 election.

"Things are always changing and now to have the lead role in for workforce, labour and employment is going to be a steep learning curve, but I am looking forward to it."

He says he will push the Liberal Government to make sure Canada's workforce is competitive and ready to prosper in the next generation economy.

"Obviously, there are a lot of substantial issues that we need to address, NAFTA being one, and the cancellation of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, or the delay on the court decision. All of these issues are continuing to build up."

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer made several changes to the shadow cabinet heading into fall, but has not yet announced who will be filling Barlow's position on the agriculture portfolio.

 

Send your news tips, story ideas and comments to jgiles@goldenwestradio.com