Nathan Cullen's Christmas media tour

For those that couldn't make it in for a chat with their Federal MP at the Prince Rupert Open House hosted by Nathan Cullen and Jennifer Rice earlier this week, the Federal NDP politician has been taking his good cheer and favourite talking points to a number of Northwest media outlets this week.

As part of his media tour, the MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley delivered a wide range of observations on politics whether it be locally across the Northwest, on the federal scene in Ottawa or even across the border in the United States.

It was a media tour week for MP Nathan Cullen, here
he takes questions at CFNR Radio in Terrace

For CFNR Radio Mr. Cullen was focused on Electoral Reform and some of his disappointment in how the Liberal party has handled the issue and in particular the government's response to the findings of the committee that Mr. Cullen was involved with over the summer.

Environmental issues were also a feature of his review for CFNR, with Mr. Cullen looking at the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline project, the end of the Northern Gateway process and LNG issues across the Northwest.

He also had harsh words for how the Liberal Government is approaching environmental themes, including the proposed North Coast Tanker Ban, while also raising his concerns over the environmental response that both the Federal and Provincial government currently has in place.

The NDP MP also looked at some of the infrastructure money that has come into the Skeena-Bulkley Valley riding in the last year, noting some of the areas that federal money was put to use in 2016. Mr. Cullen also had much to say about the need for a new hospital in the Terrace region, noting the importance of Terrace as a hub for the Northwest.

The Federal MP also weighs into the provincial scene, noting that its an election year and offering up his thoughts on how the provincial government's LNG plans haven't delivered quite the same results as the Liberal government had been touting for the region.

There are two themes available for review, CFNR's audio highlights package can be examined here, while the full interview is available for viewing here.

A quick jog to the CFTK Studios found the MP  ready for his TV close up for the week

Mr. Cullen also stopped in at the studios at CFTK Television where many of the same themes were delivered, with environmental notes related to the Northern Gateway decision and related pipeline projects made for a good portion of the discussion.

For CFTK Mr. Cullen outlined his thoughts on the path ahead for the Missing Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry that will get underway in 2017, as well as he recounted some of the background on the issue from a Northwest perspective.

The theme of LNG also made for a fair bit of the television interview, with the MP reviewing the status of projects in both Kitimat and Prince Rupert.

Of note for those living in Prince Rupert Mr. Cullen had a number of comments related to the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, holding to his long held commentary that the project would find better momentum if it were to change locations.

Mr. Cullen also offered up some thoughts on how the City of Prince Rupert has approached the issue of the proposed regional shuttle bus, suggesting that the city's approach was one designed as a response to local issues of concern along the Highway 16 corridor.

He observes that every community has different needs and different priorities, suggesting that the city's worry is that some of the local interests may be forgotten and that the region is trying to do two things at once.

The Full interview can be viewed below:




Mr. Cullen also made some time to appear on the Northern View podcast for December 21st, where he featured a wardrobe change but provided for many of the same talking points. Among those themes he reviewed were a look at the Tanker Ban for the North Coast, as for what he would like to see for the North Coast he talked looking for a more positive situation after having removed some of the threats to the region.

The MP noted that he would like to see fish processing returned to the North Coast, another topic of concern for him once again was the approach to LNG development, with Mr. Cullen noting his desire to have LNG done properly and to see that the Lelu Island project is relocated away from the current location, suggesting that was the best way to avoid threats to wild salmon and reduce the prospect of court cases, or further conflict in the region.

Overall, as he closed out his time with the podcast hosts, he remained positive about the prospects for the future for Prince Rupert, explaining how he sees the community continuing to move forward.

The MP's portion of the podcast arrives from the 7 minute thirty second mark to just past the eleven minute point. 

You can view the conversation here.

Mr. Cullen also took part on the Northern View podcast for the week

More on the electoral review tour and associated items that came out of it can be found from our political portal of D'Arcy McGee on the archive page here, while that blog also hosts an archive page related to the Missing Indigenous Women's Inquiry which you can find here.

You can also hold your own year end review of sorts, by checking out our archive of notes accumulated through the year. Our House of Commons page features a look at many of the items of note from the federal scene through the year.