MLA report Feb 18

Hello Chestermere,
We have been so lucky to enjoy such a beautiful week. Between the fabulous temperature, lake hockey, walking the puppies, and even the odd game of basketball, it’s really hard to believe it is the middle of February.
We were so honored to attend The Ice Edge Skating Club fundraiser at The Landing. They decided to hold a paint night and had 60 participants all of whom painted a beautiful moon reflecting on the water. We hope some of the paintings will end up on display in our office on the art wall for a few days so we can show off some of Chestermere’s newly discovered artistic talent. Congratulations to Heather Miller and her amazing and dedicated group of volunteers for putting on such a lovely event, and to John and Helen at the Landing for hosting. It was so much fun.
We had the privilege of participating in the Legion d’Honneur, which is the French version of the Order of Canada. This special recognition was created by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1802 and is given “in recognition of outstanding merit.” The award was presented by Jean-Christophe Fleury from the French Consul and in his heartfelt speech he said, “Thank you for making my land a free country”.
We attended the SAIT Student Petroleum Society event sponsored by Shell. At a time of such turmoil in the industry, it showed once again the resilience of our sector. It showcased the youth that are going to be the future leaders in Energy and elsewhere. It was a beautiful event that brought together top industry people from Imaginea, Shell, and others. It was impressive, humble, thoughtful and inspiring.
This week also will be remembered for B.C Premier Christie Clark’s infamous “attack” on her best friend Alberta. It is extremely hard to find the words to express the exasperation we feel, and yet when our own Premier refuses to acknowledge how amazing her province is and the opportunities we have here in oil, gas, and renewables, it is only a matter of time before that is reflected in other people’s words. If the Premier was our cheerleader and our promoter, words such as diversity and innovative would be our description, not our failings. The lack of understanding of our Energy sector by our government is not only concerning, but it is insulting.
To the East, Saskatchewan on the other hand went completely in the other direction calling on the Federal Government to subsidize the oil and gas workers out of jobs in that province. Is a subsidy the solution? Maybe, maybe not. This cry for help would need to come from industry. At least he stood up for Saskatchewan, for jobs and the economy. Premier Brad Wall speaks to the heart of his province, something our Premier could learn from.
Be strong Alberta! We need to demand the Federal Government build our Energy East Pipeline and unify this country in prosperity, just like the railroad, and the trans-Canada highway. Let’s build on our strengths, and as Suzanne West the CEO from Imaginea Energy said,” lets talk about what we can do, not what we can’t do!” This is the path to innovation and diversity. Have a beautiful week, and we hope you received oodles of valentines.