EDMONTON — The timing couldn’t have been better for Bob Barss, president of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties.
Just days before an expected provincial election announcement, hundreds of local government officials from Alberta’s 69 rural municipalities met for their spring convention.
On each table were papers with key messages to be brought to the politicians. At every chance at the microphone, Barss encouraged members to talk to politicians on the upcoming campaign trail and the ones who visited AAMD&C’s spring convention.
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“I hope the councillors take advantage of the opportunity that is out there during this election campaign and voice the concerns the municipalities have,” he said.
For Barss, the councillors have an important voice that needs to be raising issues affecting rural Alberta with candidates in all parties.
“We have to make sure they’re aware of the issues we’re involved with in rural Alberta,” said Barss, of Wainwright.
“If we have well informed candidates that are going to form this next government we feel rural Alberta will be a step ahead.”
The key message Barss wants councillors to communicate with politicians is that the government needs to continue building and rebuilding infrastructure in rural Alberta.
Roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, water and waste-water facilities in rural Alberta all need upgrading, he added.
“It’s all a big infrastructure deficit,” said Barss.
“Our message is to continue to lobby government for long-term sustainable funding. Municipalities will never be able to handle the infrastructure deficit based on taxation. You’d end up taxing people right out of your community. If they’re going to build Alberta’s economy, you got to have an infrastructure in place to allow the economy to build and the population to grow.”
Janis Simpkins, reeve of the MD of Greenview, said infrastructure funding is important, but it may not be the issue that takes hold with voters.
“In our area, what we hear a lot about is land rights and property rights and land stewardship,” said Simpkins, whose municipality covers northern communities from Valleyview to Grande Cache.
With plenty of questions about landowners rights, she said members of the governing Progressive Conservative party will need to spend plenty of time explaining their position.
Don Johnson, MD of Taber councillor and former AAMD&C president, also thinks land issues will be the big issue in rural Alberta.
“The biggest issue all over the province has to do with the land issues,” he said. “I think it’s unfortunate because there’s some misinformation, in my opinion, (that) has been deliberately spread.”
County of Thorhild reeve Charles Newell said it wouldn’t be a provincial election without a discussion on health care. He also believes land issue rights and the controversy around transmission lines will be up for debate.
Newell believes that with two strong women at the helm of the major parties — PC leader and premier Alison Redford and Wild Rose leader Danielle Smith — the election will be engaging but combative.
“I expect it will be one of the dirtiest campaigns we’ve seen here in a long time.”
Despite the dirty tricks and bad mouthing that he expects, Newell doesn’t believe the month-long campaign will change voters’ minds.
“I bet you whatever the polling is on the first day of the campaign is going to be the same as it is on the last. I don’t think the conversation in that 28 days is going to change anybody’s mind. I think people will go into this election with their minds made up and who they’re going to vote for.”
