Wild Rose Member of Parliament Blake Richards will be doing his best to support and promote Canada in his new position as chair of the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus.
Richards was appointed to lead the all-party caucus by Maxime Bernier, minister of state for small business and tourism, on Sept. 23.
“I am excited,” said Richards. “It is an honour to lead a caucus... with national representation. It is a vote of confidence in my abilities.”
In his new role, Richards will be focusing on exploring opportunities that can help Canada’s tourism industry, a $74 billion sector that employs more than 617,000 people.
It is the first time the Airdrie resident has taken on leadership of a caucus since he was first elected to Parliament in 2008.
The spot is a good fit for Richards, whose riding includes the tourism hot spots of Banff National Park and the Town of Canmore.
“Banff National Park is in my riding and is the backbone of a world-famous tourism industry and so I know just how essential tourism is to the economies of communities all across Canada,” Richards said.
“The sector is a significant employer, particularly in towns such as Banff and Canmore and it is important for Parliamentarians of all political stripes to work together to examine every opportunity to grow tourism in all regions of the country,” he added.
Richards said tourism is a topic of interest for him, a fact that may have led to the appointment.
“It is an issue that I have focused on and obviously that has been noticed,” he said.
In his new job, Richards will be responsible for hearing the concerns of members of the tourism sector and raising issues of importance to the industry. As chair, Richards will lead caucus events and report developments to the minister.
“The challenges tourism providers face in my constituency are the same issues stakeholders in the sector face all across the land and I look forward to working with my colleagues to help promote and grow the industry through our work at caucus,” Richards said.
Despite the new appointment, Richards said he will remain on other committees, such as the transport committee, and will continue to promote other issues of concern.
Bernier congratulated Richards on his new role, saying his experience would serve him well.
“With Banff National Park making up such a large portion of his constituency, I know that Blake has a good deal of experience dealing with the range of issues related to tourism as well as a strong relationship with the tourism industry in his riding and across Canada,” said Bernier.
