LAC LA BICHE - Lac La Biche County Mayor Omer Moghrabi listened closely to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Speech From the Throne last week — and the mayor hopes that Trudeau and his government listen to Alberta's rural communities as he works to implement many of the items he spoke about.
"It was very vague," said Moghrabi. "I heard a little bit about consulting with Canadians — but I think here in Alberta, especially rural Alberta, we are going to have to catch their attention."
Tories meet with Lakeland leaders
Moghrabi said he recently attended a meeting with mayors, reeves, council members and industry representatives from the Lakeland areas where federal Conservative MP and finance critic Pierre Poilievre was speaking. Moghrabi and others came away with a stronger belief that Alberta communities have to work harder to be heard and to convince the federal government that more assistance is needed in the province.
"We are, right now, a have-not province," he said, explaining that Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba share common challenges and opportunities, but don't share as much with Ontario and Quebec where many of the federal decisions are made. He said Trudeau's speech will not work with a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. "Provinces like the Prairies need to work together. The government really needs to deal differently with different provinces and regions."
When asked about the amount of money is appears the federal government is planning to spend during the COVID pandemic and the challenging economic times, Moghrabi said as long as funding is provided to the proper places, he agrees with Trudeau's comment that now is not the time for financial austerity, and that now is the time to spend.
"If we don't spend this money now on projects and infrastructure ... with interest rates at an all-time low ... it's going to cost us more in the long-run," he said, explaining that the fix is necessary, despite the heavy costs. "It's like saying i can't afford to fix the brakes on my truck ... well, actually, you can't afford not to."
Overall, Moghrabi said the Speech from the Throne, vague as it was on details, wasn't great — but it wasn't awful either.
"I have to say, it's sitting right in the middle for me," he said.
