Politician at Work

One of our debates was enlivened by an editorial in the local newspaper, "The Advocate" which referred to myself and others on council as "blissfully ignorant". I prefer the term "stubbornly principled". I do believe that as municipal councillors, we have no right to be spending tax dollars on fundraising for any political parties.

As regards being a politician, I was busy doing just that by attending AUMA (Alberta Union of Municipalities). This is a yearly conference at which many things are done:
1. we have an opportunity to vote on resolutions which decide the direction of the organization when it deals with other levels of government
2. education sessions are offered
3. councils can meet with officials from government departments
4. municipal politicians are given a chance to meet with MLAs and ask questions
5. this year, the PC leadership candidates were at a forum
6. opposition leaders speak to the assembly

Needless to say, it was a busy couple of days. Our council did meet with Environment, Infrastructure, and the RCMP. The first two were in regards to our regional water project. Alberta Environment is very much in suppport of regional water proposals, but the money has to come from the Infrastructure department. The latter is having difficulty coming up with funding rules, and setting priorities, because regional water systems is a very popular idea whose time is long overdue. We also asked about 813, the interchange, and the bridge.
I attended a land-use planning session which keeps me up-to-date for my role on the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, and a wonderful session on "Engaging the Community" by Janice Johnston who started Imagine Chicago. I do wish our public to be engaged, and interested in what happens in Athabasca.
In the meet the MLAs session, Councillor Powell was able to ask the Minister of Advanced Education, Hon. Denis Herard, about the AU expansion. His answer will probably lead to more lobbying by your council.
The resolutions sessions were very interesting. One of the most important, to me, was a resolution to urge the Govt. of Alberta to freeze all developments within an 8 km zone from all borders of every urban municipality, until a Land Use Policy framework is legislated. The resolution did not pass, but there was substantial support for it. That is a statement of how municipalities are seeing the need for "a plan".