Discovermoosejaw.com (June 19, 2010)

A lot was left on the table and all federal politicians are being critiqued for it. The House of Commons sits empty as of June 19th as federal politicians have returned to their ridings for the summer break in Ottawa.  The spring sitting is being called one of the least productive in recent memory.

Palliser MP Ray Boughen arrived home last night and isn't denying the fact that there wasn't much work completed over the last couple of months. He says, "we didn't have a lot of acts that got passed. They have to get through the house first and then they have to go to the senate. It hasn't been as productive as we'd like, but then we did make some strides in some areas."

One big item left on the table was the Conservative promise to scrap the long gun registry, forcing hunters, farmers and collectors to register rifles.  The Harper government has said that it makes law abiding citizens feel like criminals.

Boughen says they just couldn't get support to change the laws, saying "we couldn't get it through committee. Most committees have more opposition than government. So you have to convince those folks on the other side of the table that they should go with you. They didn't go with us, so we couldn't get it back from committee, it'll come back on a time situation in September."

Until then, Boughen says the Conservatives will attempt to talk with the opposition parties more on the registry to see if they can drum up some support.

However, Boughen does add that work did get done outside of the Nation's Capital. He says, "Canada had a role on the international stage with the earthquake in Haiti and, you know, the G8 and the G20 coming this month to Canada. The Olympics was a great success, it certainly showed our country to be a competitive country, one welcoming to the rest of the world as well."

Boughen will now work out of his riding office for 12 weeks before returning to Ottawa in the fall..