Doug Shipley leads a double life — one in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte and one in Ottawa.
Locally, you’ll find the member of Parliament out and about in a pair of jeans and a casual shirt, affably glad-handing with everyone he meets. In Ottawa, he dons the uniform of his colleagues — suit, tie, polished shoes — and spends his time reviewing page after page of proposed legislation.
Not surprisingly, the Conservative MP prefers life locally because that’s where he connects with constituents — his raison d’etre.
“We are here to help residents,” he said during an interview at his Barrie constituency office on Alliance Boulevard. “I think of residents and constituents as customers.
“When they come in that front door, they have an issue, they have a problem, they have a concern. My job is to help them.”
The list of issues, problems and concerns is long and varied. It might be something small like helping someone send in a passport. Or it may be something more complicated, like an immigration issue or a Revenue Canada problem.
Or it could be something dire, like having a loved one stranded in a foreign country.
Oftentimes, Shipley says, he leverages his intimate knowledge of how the government works and the myriad of programs it has to help solve the issues that land on his doorstep.
“We have direct lines to a lot of agencies the public don’t,” he said. “So, we can call out to those offices to try and help people.”
Representing both urban and rural residents, Shipley has to take into account widely divergent opinions on most of the major issues. What may look like a great solution for people who live in an urban area may not work in a rural setting.
For example, Bill C-21.
Shipley got an earful from all sides of the gun debate.
City folks concerned about rising gun-related violence had one view. Farmers protecting their livestock had another. Hunters had yet another.
“There are a lot of people around here who do use firearms,” said the former Barrie city councillor. “They use them to feed their families, protect their livestock. They’re law-abiding people.
“It became very polarized and it became very political. There was a lot of misinformation being spread,” added Shipley, now in his second term.
He says he believes in seeing the facts and making a decision based on them — he’s not moved by hyperbole and drama.
“Civil discussions are the only way to move things forward,” he said. “You have to respect other people and their way of life.
“Half of my riding is urban and half is rural. You have to understand and listen to both.”
