Hello Chestermere! This has been a very busy week, and I hope that you were able to take in the many functions and events around town this past weekend!
A big shout out to the volunteers and the organizers of the Loop Around The Lake! This was the 11th run, and all proceeds went to the Chestermere Public Library. Did you know that the run has raised $100,000 in the past 10 years? What an accomplishment! This event saw its biggest group of runners to date, and brings together community spirit and local sponsorship for a great cause. Thank you to everyone who came out in the cold weather to participate and volunteer! Thank you to the race committee, the corporate sponsors, and to Craig Skrynyk for his incredible work! I hope you had a chance to drop by the Chestemere Plaza Professional Community Breakfast! The big sound of the “Hippocratic Oath” Big Band was such an incredible way to start the day! They are the longest active dance band in Calgary and Southern Alberta. Wow!
In Legislature news, we will be freezing Alberta’s oil-well royalty structure. Along with the business-tax cut and the red tape reduction plan this should help to kick-start our energy industry. The previous reviews and instability cost the industry a lot and made us uncompetitive! This will help bring certainty to the whole system. The sector does all of its calculations based on this and the investment climate needs to read “open for business”!
The Province of Alberta is taking the Federal government to court over their Carbon Tax as we have had enough of the over reach into our provinces ability to create prosperity and run our own jurisdiction. The Federal Carbon Tax is interference pure and simple, and we know that we need to defend Alberta. The cost of this case will be around $300,000.
So how do feel about the Federal Governments latest approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline while simultaneously passing into law the “No More Pipelines” Bill C-69 and the “Oil Tankers Are OK, Except Those Carrying Alberta Oil” Bill C-48? Do you sense a bit of a disconnect there? Our Province will be seeing them in court over this as well. In other news, a former Liberal Environment Minister from BC says there is “no business case” for the Trans Mountain Expansion. Since it is the oil producers that have requested capacity on this project you can see what nonsense this is. Meanwhile, the BC Government continues to oppose Trans Mountain while at the same time bemoaning high gasoline prices (Trans Mountain carries gasoline by the way). Their Premier appoints a panel to look at high gasoline prices but forbids the panel from examining the role of the BC Government. BC is also North America’s largest exporter of coal. What hypocrisy!
I want to speak about Human Trafficking. I know that most people believe that this is an issue that does not happen in Canada, but it does, and we have to acknowledge that this horrible and despicable crime is happening on Canadian soil. The majority of victims are young women, and some of the victims are as young as 5 years old. It is a difficult discussion to have, but if it remains hidden away, we can do nothing to move forward and shine a light on the atrocities right here at home. We will be bringing in legislation, the “girl next door legislation”, in the following months to take on these traffickers. It is truly modern-day slavery and we will fight to protect vulnerable people. Human trafficking cases in Canada are crimes against Canadians, and there has never been a more important time to bring awareness to the public. Singer and activist Paul Brant has said “we won’t tolerate trafficking” and “bullies get nervous when you stand up to them”. I couldn’t agree more.
We would like you to please join us for our 3rd annual Langar at John Peake Park on Canada Day from 11-2. On Behalf of Harwinder Johal, Malkeet Aheer, Narmail Chana, and Bakhshish Mann we are honoured and humbled to serve you and share a meal with you on Canada Day, with all proceeds going to the food bank.
Finally, as you know our Chestermere office has been closed. We have a satellite office just about up and running in Strathmore and will be opening an office in Langdon, 10 minutes down the road, soon. These are difficult economic times and we have a tight budget. With this change no place in the Constituency will be more than 20 minutes from one of my offices. We have arranged meeting space in Chestermere on Fridays in the Synergy offices. Please contact Vicki at 403-207-9889 or Chestermere.Strathmore@assembly.ab.ca. I see that the City is no longer offering Commissioner For Oaths services. If you need a Commissioner For Oaths please call us at 403-207-9889 and my assistant Pete will do his best to accommodate you. This is a free service but note that he is unable to commission certain documents so please be prepared to describe the document and give him as much notice as possible so he can check with the Legislature legal staff if necessary.
As always I love to hear from you.
