Hello Chestermere! One of the highlights of a Chestermere Christmas is the Community Christmas Party. It was great to meet so many of you at last Saturday’s party at the Rec. Centre, decorate a cupcake, and of course meet Santa! I was honoured to perform a few Christmas tunes. Christmas is all about the kids and it was a special thrill to me to have a bunch of them join me on stage to sing Frosty The Snowman (they know the words better than me!), Jingle Bells, and of course Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. Special thanks to the Chestermere High School Band and Choir and the Chestermere Soundwaves choral group for their wonderful performances. If you run into Vicki Klinger, the CRCA Recreation Director, please take the time to thank her for the many great events like this that she has worked so hard to bring us in the past year. The Chestermere Recreation Recreation Centre is a true hub of our community thanks to people like Vicki, the other CRCA staff, and of course the many volunteers.
On Sunday past it was great to see so many of you at my Meet ‘N Greets in Langdon at Prairie Grounds Coffee House and Strathmore at the Civic Centre. Your input informs and inspires me every day.
We have some amazing volunteers among us, and I am blessed to meet so many of you everyday. I was privileged to attend the Stars of Alberta Awards in Edmonton on December 6th. Those recognized were Braydon Fix of Sherwood Park; Maryanne Leathwaite of Okotoks; Alicia Bjarnason of Calgary; Penny Steffen of Grimshaw; Madeleine Gervais of McLennan; and Knud Petersen of Lethbridge. The awards coincided with International Volunteer Day on Dec. 5, a global initiative established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. Thankyou to all of you who work so hard in your communities. I am always so inspired by the energy of our volunteers, the willingness to give and the overwhelming love that we have for our neighbours.
On December 5 the Legislature rose, and I would like to provide a bit of an update as to what was accomplished in this last session. In Health, Minister Shandro has created an initiative to reduce surgical wait times by increasing the amount of contracts with non-hospital surgical facilities. This will see more than 80,000 surgeries completed, and publicly funded. This will see knee replacements done within 6 months, and cataract surgeries within 4 months. We also have created a new granting stream in the Ministry of Culture, multiculturalism, and Status of Women that is directed at Promoting Inclusive Communities. This grant revitalizes the Anti-Racism Community Grant to support a broader range of projects. Non-profits can apply to either the multiculturalism and inclusion projects stream or the Indigenous projects stream. Projects can be stand-alone initiatives, new programming or resources for training and education, capacity-building or enhancing cultural awareness. Applications for the Multiculturalism, Indigenous and Inclusion Grant will be accepted until January 7, 2020. There is also a new grant coming from the Education Ministry to support the “Respect in Schools” program. This is training that can be done on line to prevent discrimination, bullying, and harassment in our schools. On November 20, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange announced that she would be ordering an independent financial audit of the Calgary Board of Education as well as a governance review in response to the CBE’s announcement that it would be ending the contracts of over 300 temporary teachers, despite the Minister LaGrange stressing that boards should prioritize frontline staff. The CBE has since reversed its position on ending these contracts, but our government maintains that the CBE must be held accountable for their spending decisions. On December 12, Minister LaGrange announced that this audit and review will be conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, and will begin immediately. The report, which is expected to cost between $100,000 and $125,000, is due to the minister by January 31, 2020. Thank you to our Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange for standing up for teachers.
On December 10, numerous Calgarians attended the Fair Deal Panel’s town hall in Calgary. It was great to see so many engaged, enthusiastic Albertans eager to see our province succeed. The panel is exploring ideas that would give Alberta a bigger voice within the federation, increase our power over areas of provincial jurisdiction, and advance our vital economic interests, such as building pipelines. Future sessions are set to be held across the province. You can submit your feedback online at alberta.ca/fairdeal.
On December 12, our government announced that the Office of the Seniors Advocate will be combined with the Office of the Health Advocates to address seniors’ concerns more efficiently. Beginning January 2, 2020, Alberta seniors, their families and service providers will be able to access information and referrals on issues of concern at a centralized organization. Staff and resources from the Office of the Seniors Advocate will be transferred to the Office of the Health Advocates to support this change. The Alberta Health Advocates can be reached at 780-422-1812 or online at albertahealthadvocates.ca. Additionally, general inquiries about all government services can be made to Alberta Supports at 1-877-644-9992 and at any Alberta Supports office.
In conclusion, our food banks are in dire need of supplies for the holidays, so please give them a call and see what their needs are at this time. I know that feminine hygiene products, diapers, wipes and things like toothpaste and deodorant are always needed and greatly appreciated.
Please remember to “shop local” where possible this Christmas season! As always, we love to hear from you.
