MLA report October 1
Hello to all my constituents. As the AUMA meetings are ongoing as I write I thought I would share a few comments on where the Wildrose party stands.
It seems that in the past Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funds, and increases to them, have been promised and then conveniently forgotten. The government seems intent on keeping with old PC habits and has thus far implemented a blanket freeze. A key Wildrose policy plank is the 10/10 MSI plan. This plan ensures municipalities would be able to address the growing pressures they face. It would allocate 10% of all tax revenues and 10% of budget surpluses to municipalities to ensure that core funding doesn’t rely on the threats and promises of politicians. Wouldn’t it be nice to have stable and predictable funding? A way to know what we will receive and then even better to be able to spend it as needed by the municipality, and for the municipality.
Now the government has announced it is changing the Municipal Government Act which affects everyone in the constituency. As you know, “The devil is in the details.” We’ll keep you posted once they decide to fill us in.
We were very fortunate to have participated in the Rotary Amazing Race on September 19th, 2015. As you saw in the Anchor last week we did it on bicycles and had a great time. What a wonderful day full of fabulous people all geared towards helping their community. The Rotary International mission statement is as follows:
“To provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, good will and peace through its fellowship of business, professional and community leaders.”
Thank you to Mardi Oel, Patricia Virk, other Rotarians, Michelle Young with “Legup”, volunteers, and donors for their time and energy to put this wonderful function on. We will be back and it would be nice to see some other challengers on 2 wheels. Let’s keep the Amazing Race growing by leaps and bounds. We’d love to see Langdon, Springbank, and the rest of the constituency send teams or host one themselves. You have been challenged!
On October 16 at 5 PM we will be participating in the “Light The Night” walk at the Eau Claire Market in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. These are particularly cruel forms of cancer in that they affect so many children. Please join us if you can. We try to keep up with community and charitable events but we miss things. If you have an event upcoming, please call the office and let us know. If we can make it we love to help with setup/takedown as we get to meet all the volunteers.
On a personal note, I would like to take a moment to reflect on family and friends, and to simply say that life is short, embrace your loved ones daily, treasure your friends and learn from your adversity. There are many people who will touch our lives, and some leave sooner than we or they expect. As fall begins, we at the MLA’s office would like to wish you a beautiful week, full of memories, smiles and joy.
By Leela Aheer
Leela Aheer was elected to the Alberta Legislature in the riding of Chestermere-Rocky View. She currently resides in Chestermere and looks forward to using her roots in the community along with her experience in business, and her passion for her community to effectively advocate for her constituents in the Alberta Legislature.
email: Chestermere.Rockyview@assembly.ab.ca