Chris Clegg
A notice of motion filed by Enilda – Big Meadow Councillor Lane Monteith at the Big Lakes County meeting July 10 needs to die like the dinosaurs.
Monteith is proposing a community barbecue at Kinuso “in or around September 2025.”
The problem is, elections occur Oct. 20. A proposed barbecue just a few weeks before the election will not sit well with many county residents. Accusations will immediately roll off the tongues of potential vote-buying. I am confident this is not Monteith’s intention but the timing stinks as badly as being locked into a closet with a skunk.
Under different circumstances, a county barbecue was also proposed for Oct. 1, 2021 just after the COVID pandemic. By law at the time, public gatherings were not prohibited. At its Sept. 8, 2021 meeting, council defeated a motion to proceed with the barbecue 4-3 in part because of COVID.
However, Grouard Councillor Fern Welch added the following:
“I’ve had lots of people talk to me and they’re concerned about the county barbecue in the middle of an election campaign,” Welch said.
The inference was obvious. Welch was absolutely 100 per cent correct.
A similar issue arises with Monteith’s suggestion.
The matter of public perception comes into full force. Does council want to give the public any grounds to yell and scream accusations of vote-buying, no matter how bogus they may be? Probably not. Talk about letting the fox into the henhouse!
The county barbecue held each June is a resounding success. Good food and drink. Council gets a chance to promote its programs. Council gives away a gift (usually a plant) and everyone goes away happy. A person with a full stomach is usually a happy person! It is a terrific event and one in which council receives outstanding value.
The barbecue has aways been held in High Prairie. Many times, Faust Councillor Robert Nygaard has proposed the barbecue be alternated between High Prairie and either Faust or Kinuso in the east. To date, Nygaard has been as successful at alternating the location of the barbecue as my attempts at winning Lotto 6/49.
I agree with Nygaard and have repeatedly said so. Like Nygaard, my support has fallen upon deaf ears. To alternate the barbecue between the two locations on the county map would prove to be more difficult for staff but fair is fair. Why should Kinuso and Faust residents have to travel each year?
Besides, Nygaard has never proposed to move the barbecue permanently to Faust or Kinuso. Just alternate locations.
I also don’t believe most county ratepayers would object if there were two barbecues each year, given the large area of the county. If High Prairie and area residents oppose due to cost – well – it’s kind of selfish.
Still, holding the barbecue so close to an election reeks similar to the smell of the south end of a northbound cow. Councillors would be best to stay away from such controversy.
In the future, plan for two barbecues. One in June, one in July. Perhaps during September during a non-election year. It would not be a full-scale firestorm, but council does not need the inevitable controversy that is sure to arise if they proceed with Monteith’s proposal.