More of the same old, same old!
Peace River – Westlock MP Arnold Viersen says he endorses a plan by fellow Conservative MP Richard Bragdon to support and build small towns.
It is predictable for any party member to support a colleague. It is the way politics works. Politicians love to hear themselves talk.
It is commendable for the Conservatives to devise a plan to help small towns. The problem is, when the Conservatives were last in power, communities like High Prairie, McLennan and Falher did not exactly experience a sudden rise in development, commonly called an economic boom. Truth be told, the communities cited above have been in a steady downward spiral for decades. Development is not keeping up with taxation revenue needed to operate our communities. The result? More money taken from the pockets of taxpayers to fund government’s insatiable need for money.
The current Liberals, whether former prime minister Justin Trudeau or current Prime Minister Mark Carney, clearly indicated no desire to build pipelines to transport Alberta’s energy to global markets. Odd thing is, and something the federal Conservatives never want to mention, is that under former prime minister Stephen Harper’s leadership, not a single pipeline was built. Pretty easy to criticize the Liberals but perhaps one should look at their record first.
Today, we have the Town of High Prairie and Big Lakes County moving forward on hiring an economic development officer (EDO). Previous attempts by EDOs have failed miserably but it does not mean the next one will also fail. The problem is, if it fails it will cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Taxpayers have every right to question what will be different this time around. Different CAOs supervising the position? Different councils? Perhaps. Time will tell.
What might be concerning is the economic study was released at a public meeting April 13. Just short of five months later, the two governments last week were ironing out details to hire an economic development officer. Five months! Where is the urgency?
All the governments representing the people would be best advised to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Spending nearly $100,000 on a study and letting it sit for five months before acting suggests it is not a high priority.
Truth be told, it is.
Chris Clegg