While many in the region were focused on the contentious PC nomination race, local resident Scott Cyr was quietly chosen to represent the Wildrose party for the Bonnyville – Cold Lake Constituency.
Cyr, an accountant, lives in Cold Lake with his wife and two daughters after moving to the area in 2001.
It was in 2012, after the last election, when Cyr became upset with some of the choices MLA Genia Leskiw was making, prompting him to become involved with the Wildrose. Cyr initially joined the party to support Roy Doonanco, the Wildrose representative who was defeated by Leskiw in the last election. Doonanco soon made the decision not to run in the next election, leaving the local Wildrose chapter in need of a representative.
“Somebody needed to step forward and be the candidate for our area and at some point you have to point to yourself and say ‘maybe it is my time to step up and do my civic duty and serve our riding,'” said Cyr.
He has spent the last several years familiarizing himself with the local politicians in preparation for the upcoming election. He has met with MD, Town of Bonnyville and Village of Glendon officials in an attempt to understand all of the issues the region is facing.
“This isn't something where I woke up in the morning two weeks ago and said ‘I want to be the next MLA.' It has been about two years that I have been moving towards putting my name forward.”
Many in the province are probably wondering why Cyr chose to run for the Wildrose party, considering the party has been in disarray since former leader Danielle Smith and eight other MLA's crossed the floor in December.
“(Smith) is saying that the Wildrose won and that is why they moved across (the floor). Obviously that isn't taking very well with Albertans. If they had won, we wouldn't exist anymore,” said Cyr, who isn't impressed with the moves Premier Jim Prentice has made since the crossover.
“As soon as he had those Wildrosers come over he started throwing out PST, health care premiums and deficits,” added Cyr. “In the end, when Prentice decided that he was going to break his nomination promises for leadership, I decided that nothing has really changed.”
Cyr feels that the next few years will be very important for Albertans, with the province facing an economic crisis due to the volatile oil prices seen in recent months. With the province staring down a $7-billion budget shortfall, the next few years are going see them need to be fiscally responsible. This is where Cyr feels he can jump in and help, using his extensive financial background.
“I have had a career around helping people get their businesses back on track, getting funding for them and making their businesses perform better,” said Cyr, who successfully completed a double major in accounting and finance at the University of Lethbridge. “That is what I do and it is what you need in an MLA. We need somebody who is going to be able to get money where is needs to go so it will have the most impact.”
Topping the list of his priorities are what he refers to as “the four pillars” of his platform. The list includes: serving the constituents, bringing integrity back to government, improving health care and being fiscally responsible.
“I think that MLA's have long stopped listening to what the people want from government. They just tell them what is going to happen,” said Cyr.
He also hopes to drastically improve health care throughout the province, feeling that Alberta should be striving to have the best health care in the country.
Along with the general wide-ranging priorities, Cyr offered his thoughts on a variety of different regional issues that will be at the forefront of his to-do list should he become MLA.
Fixing Highway 28, solving the Temporary Foreign Worker Program issue, responsibly looking after local resources, moving forward with the regional water line and bringing more money back to the region are just some of the goals Cyr has.
“We have a ton of money being transferred out of our area. How is it that none of it is trickling back?” asked Cyr. “We need to start looking at where the oil is made and have some sort of kickback in the royalties. Something needs to come back to Bonnyville, Glendon, Cold Lake and the MD.”
Cyr also feels the that process in which money gets spread around the region needs to change so that the front line workers and local decision makers get more of a say in how the money is used. Rather than telling people the best way to solve their problem, Cyr would like to see more locals involved in the process and brought into the discussions.
He was highly critical of the regional water line process, seeing as it has stalled for several years.
“I think that we really dropped the ball on this. When the government had a lot of money that they were ready to put out there and get this going, is when we needed to go out and do it,” said Cyr. “It stalled so much we now have no money to fund the regional water line.”
The much-maligned TFWP is another issue Cyr hopes to tackle, feeling that this region is unique and needs to be looked at different when addressing this program.
“I was here before they brought in the temporary foreign worker program and there were always lineups. Have you been to Walmart? They don't have any temporary foreign workers at Walmart,” said Cyr. “Alberta is unique. In the end it comes down to the fact that we need people to work in our restaurants and stores to fill the important positions.”
As of late February the only known competitor for Cyr was PC candidate Craig Copeland, who has spent the past eight years as the Mayor of Cold Lake.
“The fact is we need someone who is going to unite our riding and not cause confrontation. The province wins if we are fighting with each other,” said Cyr. “If we were united the water line and a lot of the other things we want and need as an area would be done by now.”
An election is expected to happen sometime in late April.
