Liberal candidate Tammy Cook-Searson giving a speech at her campaign kickoff at the Meadow Lake Civic Centre. Joining her on stage was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and MLTC Chief Richard Ben. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

Federal Election

Trudeau endorses Tammy Cook-Searson at campaign kickoff

May 24, 2019 | 11:17 AM

The Liberal party candidate for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding kicked off her campaign with a big endorsement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was at the Meadow Lake Civic Centre May 23 to help Tammy Cook-Searson start her campaign for the upcoming general election. The room was filled with Cook-Searson’s family, friends and Liberal supporters as Trudeau spoke on the accomplishments of the Liberal party and the need to move forward with reconciliation.

The prime minister described Cook-Searson as someone who puts community first and a leader who will serve her people.

“That idea of service and that commitment to community and that passion for the future of our country that we are building together is why I am so excited to have Tammy Cook-Searson as our next MP for Northern Saskatchewan,” Trudeau said.

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“I’m excited to be running for the Liberals and to be campaigning for the Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding,” Cook-Searson told meadowlakeNOW at the event. “There’s a lot of work to get done and I’m looking forward to meeting lots of people and hearing from the people to see what they want their candidate to be working on.”

At the event, Cook-Searson spoke about her time as Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief and her work as the president of Kitaski Management Development Corporation.

Cook-Searson brought up some examples of her work with the federal government and First Nations in her home of La Ronge.

“We used to receive $6,000 to $8,000 per student and we’ve always argued about the underfunding of education,” Cook-Searson said.

After negotiating with the federal government, Cook-Searson said they were able to double the amount they would receive per student.

“That’s a step in the right direction and I know that it’s something other First Nations are looking forward to not only within our communities of Saskatchewan but also all across the country,” she said. “It’s the communities that identify what the needs are and then from there we help them implement the things they want for their communities.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Liberal party candidate Tammy Cook-Searson took photos with supporters after the speech. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

Cook-Searson said she has met with Conservative candidate Gary Vidal and NDP candidate Georgina Jolibois and expects this upcoming election to be a close race.

“I know it’s going to be really hard work for the three of us because it’s a huge riding and it’s a diverse riding,” she said.

Despite the strong competition, Cook-Searson hopes people within the Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River riding will come out to vote.

“I know last election it was a really close race between the Liberals and the NDP and last election we had over 8,000 more people come out to vote,” she said. “I’m hoping we have a big turnout again.”

The federal election is scheduled for Oct. 21, 2019.

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nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Nikitaganov