MP Richard Cannings has completed his “Ride the Riding” tour of South Okanagan-West Kootenay. The weather co-operated and people came out to meet him for coffee or to join him in cycling portions of the 500 km journey. (Contributed photo)
DAN WALTON
Special to the Times
The ‘Ride the Riding’ tour was the local Member of Parliament’s way of mixing work and play.
Richard Cannings, MP for South Okanagan-West Kootenay, took the last week of August to travel nearly 500 kilometres around the riding by bicycle.
“In general everything went wonderful,” he said. “The weather was great; people came out to cycle; good meet ups for coffee, breakfast and lunch. It all worked out well or better than I planned.”
He said the topics brought up by constituents were “all over the map,” but namely federal issues, using electoral reform and climate change as examples.
The National Park issue arose when he was in the Oliver area, but nothing can happen on that front until the provincial government initiates the process. The province appeared to be dragging its feet to delay the process, “But I think they sense now there’s strong support and a strong business case and environment and local sentiment is very much in favour.”
However, “Most people are talking about broader Canadian issues like the pipelines and site C dam.”
Politics aside, he said it was easy good company among other cyclists.
“I met a group of people at Road 22 and we cycled along the river channel in Oliver, and then went to Medici’s where a lot of people joined us. And the crowd was even bigger going up to OK Falls.
“Because I was riding the trail with cyclists, there was a lot of conversation about the trail and how we can get funding for its maintenance.”
And he was able to see for himself what kind of shape the trail network is really in.
“There are parts of the trails that really need some work. And because it’s all relying on volunteer labour, it’s a real challenge to keep the trail in good enough shape, especially for bicycles.”
Canning heard that some communities in the riding – Midway, Rock Creek and Slocan Valley – consider the Kettle Valley Rail Trail network to be a very important asset to their economies. And he proved that to be at least a little true by spending at the local coffee shops.
“You go slow and you stop at every café pretty much; they’re miles apart and you’re ready for a break.”
Some constituents knew when and where they’d be able to find Cannings while he was riding the riding, and others bumped into him by sheer luck. But whether it was planned or not, he felt like it was much easier to connect with the communities via bicycle.
“People even stop me on the road – I’d be cycling along the highway and they’d see the sign on my bike, introduce themselves and we’d chat for 20 minutes. That wouldn’t have happened in my car.”
Cannings’ idea of riding the riding came about last fall during the federal election, when he thought it could be incorporated into his campaign strategy. His campaign manager said it wouldn’t be able to fit that timetable, but the idea lingered.
“I was looking for ways to talk to people who may not have the opportunity to meet their MP otherwise, and I want to get in shape before I go back to Ottawa – so I took it out of the bottom of my mind and said let’s do this.”
Cannings hopes to be able to do a similar tour again next summer, but maybe change up the route, and he said Mount Baldy to Rock Creek would make for an interesting stretch.
He pedalled 435 kilometres of the trip and hitched about 60 kilometres of car rides to avoid some of the stubborn hills.
“All along I enjoyed the scenery,” he said, adding that his enjoyment of the beautiful scenery made it hard to stay on schedule. He took many photos, and said along the way he spotted four to five bears, an otter in the Kettle River and a weasel in Osoyoos. And as a birder, there was no shortage of flying creatures for him to appreciate.
“We have a beautiful riding and it’s full of trails that get you off the road and into some beautiful habitats.”
DAN WALTON
Regional Reporter
