Local municipalities are putting pen to paper as they continue their fight to stop bills C-69 and C-48.
At the recommendation of Sen. David Tkachuk, the Town and MD of Bonnyville and City of Cold Lake are submitting letters stressing how Bill C-69, an act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, and Bill C-48, an act respecting the regulation of vessels transporting crude oil, will have a lasting impact on their communities.
After Bill C-69 was given third reading by the Senate with nearly 200 amendments, the federal Liberals announced that they would only be accepting half of the recommended changes.
“I think we’re fighting a government that has an agenda, and the very fact that they threw aside most of the amendments on Bill C-69 is very concerning; that we have a government that maybe isn’t listening to the needs of the folks out here in western Canada,” said MD Reeve Greg Sawchuk.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney noted in a press release his disappointment in the decision on June 11 to reject the "vast majority of amendments made by the Senate of Canada to Bill C--69, after thousands of hours of close study and witness testimony."
While most municipalities would accept Bill C-69's passing with the changes suggested, they want Bill C-48 abolished completely.
This was one of the topics touched on in the letter the Town of Bonnyville sent to the Senate.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski said they expressed "the detrimental affects both these bills will have on our community, region, and Alberta itself."
The town went a step further and detailed how the bills will impact Canada as a whole as well.
Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland noted there was a point where they thought they might be headed to Ottawa to continue lobbying the federal government in person, however, due to their timeline, agreed letters from each municipality would work better.
"The idea is to try and bring over the vote on Bill C-48 and C-69, in to a more favourable position,” he told city council during their meeting on Tuesday, June 11.
He continued, “(Tkachuk) is encouraging us to stay home, do a motion, and lobby Ottawa. He just felt that time is of the essence and maybe sending these motions and talking about how your community’s affected by all of this and speaking at the community-level… that possibly this might hit a chord with some of the senators."
Sawchuk agreed that adding a personal touch is a vital step.
“It’s important to put a personal side to how it actually affects us locally. I think to give a better understanding for some of these senators who are sitting and looking at things at a very high level, maybe this will bring them back down to reality and help them realize that the decisions they’re making are going to affect people’s lives."
For Sobolewski, "doing nothing isn't an option."
"Our voices still have to be heard. We have to say something, we have to be able to ensure our voices count,” Sobolewski exclaimed.
He added, “The generic letters aren’t listened to. They’re fairly common, but the senators… they want to hear the stories... They want to hear the direct impact."
