Hello Chestermere! We wanted to start out this week’s article with a big thanks again to the residents of Chestermere, Langdon, Springbank, and Delacour for helping us to raise $2000+ for Autism Speaks and Inclusion Alberta at our Light it up Blue event in Delacour. In last week’s article we missed thanking:
Inclusion Calgary Chili Team: plus Laura Bechard, David Oakleaf, Robin Dowhaluk, Bill Dowhaluk
Charities: plus Wendy Mcdonald of Inclusion Alberta
Door Prize Donors: Waiting Room Café, Chestermere and My Bakery Shop, Langdon.
It was great to see people from all over the constituency and beyond come together. The following Monday I had the pleasure of appearing on the AM770 Danielle Smith Show segment on Autism Awareness Month along with Dave Mikkelsen of Autism Canada and Garth Johnson of Meticulon. I spoke about our fundraiser, my experience with an autistic son, and the need to include autistic and all other people with special needs in in the mainstream of our society. The fabric of our communities is created by many colours and stripes. Our special needs and autistic members of our society are such a magnificent part of that rainbow of unique individuals, and we are so proud that we were able to be part of this and help bring awareness to our constituency. We also attended the Chestermere Recreation Centre casino night, and we were very impressed. Congratulations on an amazing event.
In the legislature this week, we debated Bill 4, An Act to Implement a Supreme Court Ruling Governing Essential Services. We in the Wildrose brought forward several amendments that would have made this necessary legislation much better and more transparent. A question for you: Do you believe that Emergency Medical Services workers are an essential service? We think so. The Government voted against the amendment to list EMS as an essential service.
Here is what is not essential, a motion in the legislature to describe the job of one of the Ministers. Motion 502 was debated in the legislature this week, and in essence it describes the need to engage the energy sector as the government moves to develop strategies to diversify Alberta’s energy market. In other words, it is a motion to consult with the energy industry. Interestingly, this is the job of the Energy Minister, and the fact that an NDP backbencher has to remind the Minister in a motion that this is her job is baffling at best. The question is then, what have they been doing for the last 11 months since they were elected if not engaging the energy sector? I would think that it would be at the top of their priority list.
We want to let you know that we in the Wildrose have been not only reaching out and engaging with you our constituents on a regular basis, but also to the energy sector. We are here to work for you, and it is our pleasure to be your public servant. Stay strong and know that we have your back. Please stop by and see us. We love to hear from you.
