Carlton Trail - Eagle Creek MP Kelly Block made several stops on her tour of the riding. On March 15th, the MP visited in Humboldt, Muenster, and Lake Lenore.

107.5 Bolt FM caught up with Ms. Block at a morning coffee session with the residents of Muenster. The meeting took place at the Seniors' Centre with a gathering of constituents who brought a wide range of concerns and observations. This was the fifth day of Block's tour which had already carried her to numerous locations in the riding.

An initial focus of conversation was rural crime and the introduction of a study on crime as a private members bill. The group referenced the fact that there had been community consultations with RCMP in Leroy and Wadena, but none in the immediate area. As might be expected, other concerns revolved around oil and gas resources, canola concerns with China, and the general mistrust emerging in the wake of the SNC-Lavalin affair. Block explains that these are similar themes to those she's encountered throughout her visits.

She elaborates, "We will have been in about 15 communities this week and some of the common themes being brought up are the carbon tax, the implications of that on heating fuel and groceries. We've heard about the SNC-Lavalin case that is going on in Ottawa, and our relationship with China and what is happening to our producers and their canola." Block also noted community infrastructure was a recurring point; in Muenster, as in other communities in the area, there were questions about funding for improvements to Highway 5 west of the Highway 2 junction.

Regarding the market disruption with China, Block outlined her party's position on diversifying markets to provide more outlets for Canadian products, "Our party has been very intentional about this in terms of pursuing free trade agreements when we were in government, and encouraging the current government to do that, to follow our example of looking to diversify our markets and create free trade agreements with other countries."

Block and her associates continue their scheduled visits in the coming week.