He may not be a cabinet minister, but Yellowhead MP Rob Merrifield has plenty of responsibility during this session of Parliament.

Already chairing the standing committee on health, Merrifield captured one of the most coveted positions in Ottawa late last month, winning an election to the co-chair’s position on the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group.

“It’s a very coveted position and there were three others who were very adamant about wanting it from our side,” Merrifield said from his Ottawa office. Through backroom efforts and 

negotiation, his team secured the Conservative Party nomination for our man in Ottawa, but the battle had just begun. Merrifield had to defeat former Solicitor-General and Liberal MP Wayne Easter in an election that was fought along partisan lines. Indeed, Merrifield only captured the co-chairmanship of the committee after winning Bloc Quebecois and NDP support.

“There are a lot of parlimentary associations on the hill, but this is one of the most signficant,” Merrifield said when asked to explain just why the seat he now holds was so precious to both parties.

While he has served as a member of the group since he was first elected to federal office, Merrifield’s new position carries with it some time consuming responsibilities. He will have to attend no fewer than nine conferences between July and September and he acknowledges these commitments will cut into his time in the riding.

“It is going to stretch me, I will not be in the riding as much as I have been in past summers,” he said. However, Merrifield is confident that he will be able to effectively address issues of interest to his constituents through his new role.

“It will, in fact, help me in dealing with some of the most important issues for Yellowhead.”

Merrifield was very active in the campaign to resolve the BSE and softwood lumber issues with the United States and it is another border-related matter that he anticipates will take up the majority of his attention in the months ahead. The U.S. has set a tight deadline before Canadians travelling across the border have to produce a passport or an equivalent document. There is a great deal of concern that the increased scrutiny at the border may have a negative impact on the flow of trade goods north and south and the flow of tourists north towards Jasper and other Canadian destinations.

“This is one of the biggest issues,” Merrifield said. “We had substantial discussions about it at the last meeting of the group in Charleston (South Carolina) last month.”

Merrifield’s own position on border control is clear.

“We say two things. First, give us enough time to avoid impacting economic relations between the two countries. Second, this equivalent document has to be simplistic enough so that it can be obtain without economic penalty or a great deal of time spent.”

The recent terror arrests in Ontario, while attracting the attention of American decision-makers and news media, are unlikely to make much of a difference in the U.S. policy, in Merrifield’s opinion.

“I don’t think it’s going to make any difference. They’re adamant about doing this and it may, in fact, be of benefit to both countries, as long as it is done in the right way.”

This conciliatory attitude, when compared to the sometimes histrionic posturing of previous Canadian administrations, has already borne fruit, Merrifield said.

“We have a better relationship with the American lawmakers. We fight sort of like brothers and sisters. Last month in Charleston it was unbelievable. We just got so much done there, in fact my co-chair Liberal Senator (Jerry) Grafstein said he was very impressed.”

But make no mistake, Merrifield is clear that his job is not to buddy up to the Bush administration.

“We have North America’s largest oil reserves in Alberta, and we have China knocking on the door to access it. That becomes a lever to use to gain the American’s attention and say, don’t sour the well of the relationship,” he said. “We will get in the pit and play hardball, and I think that they expect that.”

Merrifield has also been pleased with the progress of his other major area of responsibility, the standing committee on health.

“I like to be busy, and I am certainly very busy,” he said. “The health committee is going very well.”

Merrifield believes solid progress is part of a general trend of performance for the Conservative government.

“I think Canadians aren’t used to having things done, but we have achieved a lot already and I think the best is yet to come.”