P.E.I. MP gets trapped in a protest at Republican convention
'We will have to deal with whoever ends up being president'
It might come as a surprise to many Islanders, but P.E.I. Liberal MP Wayne Easter was in the crowd this week at the Republican convention in Cleveland.
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Easter is the chair of the Canada-US Inter-Parliamentary Group. He said members of the group often work closely with American senators and congressmen and so every four years they have representatives go to both the Republican and Democratic conventions.
"As legislators in this country, we will have to deal with whoever ends up being president so we need to know who the players are around those individuals, what their initial policy positions are and that will moderate as time goes on I expect."
And there were some tense moments for him as well — including getting trapped in a protest.
"I did get trapped one day in a demonstration and couldn't get in or out of the convention hall and that was over a group who were burning a flag," he said.
Attention on trade discussions
The Malpeque MP said he paid particular attention to trade discussions. He attended panels on democracy, energy. climate change and education.
He said he took in most of the convention including the speeches, noting that some of the most interesting ones came from Donald Trump's family.
He described the mood as "almost vicious" towards the democratic candidate.
Easter said someone else in the Canada-US Inter-Parliamentary Group will be attending the Democratic convention, but conceded this one may have been the most interesting.
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