Provencher Member of Parliament Ted Falk is in Halifax for the start of the Conservative Party's policy conference this weekend to prepare for the next federal election. Falk says he and his local team have been canvassing the constituency over the past week or so to get a feel for what voters would like the Conservatives to do. He tells us what they heard.

"There's a lot of frustration that we heard at the door in our area, things like the Liberal's attestation (requirement) on the Canada Summer Jobs program is something that bothers a lot of our constituents. The situation with the illegal migrants and the lack of a plan to deal with this influx is very frustrating. I think that was the top of mind for most people that we came to at the door and just the general direction that our country is going."

Falk looks forward to considerable discussion this weekend on matters like world trade, care for seniors and a pre-born child policy. He also expects the Conservatives will reinforce their commitment to supply management.

"We've previously stated that we're very committed to supply management. It is a system that has served Canadians very well, it serves our farmers very well, unlike our counterparts in the United States where the government continually subsidizes agriculture. The supply management system with dairy and poultry is a system that doesn't require any government subsidy, it's a system that's self-regulated and seems to work very well and ensures that we have the highest food quality in the world."

Meanwhile, Falk does not expect recent comments by Quebec Conservative MP Maxime Bernier will cause any problems at the conference. Bernier tweeted that Liberal policies have led to extreme multiculturalism in Canada which leads to ghettoes and tribes. Some people have labelled Bernier a racist but Falk disagrees.

"I know Max personally and have had several discussions with him and I think his point is that what we need is to have is orderly and planned immigration. Canada is the most welcoming country in the world when it comes to our immigration policies. And, what's been happening at our border, with our neighbours to the south, is a lack of a plan. It's a situation where there is no control and people are allowed to just come in unrestricted and we look after them. We've spent close to $300 million of Canadians' taxpayer dollars in providing living accommodations and health services to these illegal migrants and I think Maxime's concern is, we want to be a country that's opening and welcome but we want to do it in an orderly fashion. There's a right way to come to Canada and there's a wrong way and the wrong way is to come across the border illegally."

Falk says Bernier has a significant following of people who like his ideas and adds that's one of the beauties of the Conservative Party, that they can discuss a whole range of ideas that people have and do it in a civilized and democratic way and come up with a decision that the majority can agree on.P