With a new party now in power on the provincial scene, two local municipal leaders say they are looking forward to building relationships and developing partnerships with a “fresh” NDP government.
Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski and MD of Bonnyville Reeve Ed Rondeau admitted these were “exciting times” for all of Alberta as the province prepares for its first non-PC government in 44 years.
“I see this as a new chance for rural municipalities such as Bonnyville, a new start,” Sobolewski told the Nouvelle last week. “We're really going to be entering into a new frontier with this NDP government – there will be new ministers, new philosophies and new ideas. It's really quite an exciting time.”
With projects such as the regional waterline and twinning of Highway 28 between Bonnyville and Cold Lake taking a back seat under PC leadership, Sobolewski is hoping to see a “change of attitude” from the province towards what he sees as “absolutely vital” projects – particularly the waterline.
“I think the waterline is more so the priority for us… That particular project is absolutely vital for the Town of Bonnyville,” Sobolewski said. “If the NDP has a bit of a different philosophy with transportation for things such as the waterline, that's where things could get exciting for us. We may be able to advance that project under new government whereas the old mindset in the old government was that large projects around the big cities was a high priority.”
He added, “Hopefully, under this new NDP government, we'll stop seeing the cuts to Water for Life funding. Hopefully, things will be a little different.”
Rondeau echoed those sentiments, stating the entire MD Council was looking forward to meeting with new NDP officials once they're sworn in later this summer.
“We're already sitting down and planning as a council how we want to approach (this new NDP government),” Rondeau said. “We really want to take the time to go and meet with them and put forth our concerns with regards to roads, bridges, seniors and a whole boat load of other important things.”
Following more than four decades of PC rule in Alberta, Rondeau hoped there would be a real opportunity for rural municipalities to further press home important education and infrastructure projects under an NDP government, but he stopped short of celebrating just yet.
“I suppose there will be some major changes under this NDP government… At the very least they will probably be prepared to look at some things differently than the PCs have done in recent years, which could potentially benefit municipalities such as the MD,” Rondeau said. “The thing is though, it's a little hard to predict exactly what's going to happen right now. The NDP's haven't officially taken over government yet, they haven't got their house in order.”
He added, “It's a little premature to maybe judge them or have too high of expectations yet, but we're looking forward to working with them and seeing what they're prepared to do.”
One change both municipal leaders were happy to see came locally when Wildrose candidate Scott Cyr defeated his PC counterpart Craig Copeland in the race to replace the retiring Genia Leskiw.
As the new MLA for Bonnyville – Cold Lake, both Rondeau and Sobolewski said that while they are looking forward to working with Cyr over the next four years, the fact he will be sitting on the official opposition rather than the party in power may have a detrimental effect on the Lakeland region.
“I know Scott and I know he will do his very best to represent this region as best as he possible can… Whether he'll be able to be as effective as an MLA from the party in power would be remains to be seen, but I believe if the Wildrose chooses to work with the NDP rather than just criticize them, then there's a very good chance they could work well together,” Rondeau said. “That could open up a lot of doors for (municipalities represented by the Wildrose) down the road.”
For months now, Sobolewski and the Town of Bonnyville have been keen to press home the point that the urban municipality was in dire need of help as it seeks to bridge a growing infrastructure deficit. Over that time, the Bonnyville Mayor has been heard targeting Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR) funds in an attempt to address that deficit.
With a new government soon to be in place, Sobolewski said he was keen to continue discussions with the province over finding additional revenue sources for Bonnyville.
“We're definitely going to be continuing on with our search for additional funding, whether that means reopening the ID 349 debate… We'll have to wait and see,” Sobolewski said. “Our thoughts with regards to that issue has never been to take money away from the City of Cold Lake. Our thoughts are perhaps seeking to increase the mill rates on the land out there so as to increase revenue and secure funds that way. Increasing that rate will ensure the City of Cold Lake is still receiving the funds they're receiving today.”
He added, “I'm a little optimistic (something may be done), certainly more so now than I was under a PC government. I know is speaking to NDP representatives a little over a year ago, and in speaking to Wildrose members, they appeared to be very much in favour of taking a different approach with respect to ID 349, so we'll see where that goes.”
“We're still going to be encouraging the City of Cold Lake to participate in our committee because we need their voices at the table too.”
Check out this week's copy of the Lakeland Regional to read Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland's thoughts on ID 349, new MLA Scott Cyr and the new NDP government.
