LAKELAND - A group of regional mayors, reeves and Indigenous leaders are sending the provincial government a message about healthcare and roads in northeastern Alberta: "Do more."
Comprised of leaders from across northeastern Alberta, the group has banded together on common, wide-reaching issues. Last Thursday, during a meeting around a large table in a Lac La Biche meeting room, two dozen elected officials from across northeastern Alberta spent the day sharing ideas and finding common ground on several issues facing their communities.
"It was surprising in a way to see just how similar we all are," said Lac La Biche County Mayor Paul Reutov. "Not just the municipalities, but the Indigenous communities at our table as well."
One thing that wasn't surprising was how the northeastern part of the province is often overlooked by the provincial government. It doesn't matter if you are in Lac La Biche County, Goodfish Lake, Cold Lake or Vilna, there is a need to have your voice heard, said Reutov.
"Sometimes we are the forgotten part of the province, it seems. We get no funding or no attention, and yet we get all the traffic and the Energy Corridor comes through our area," Reutov said. "By all getting together, we have a shared voice to present to the provincial leaders. Rather than going at it alone ... collectively we are all saying the same."
And that collective message will soon be delivered in letter-form to those provincial officials. While not going into specifics of the demands, Reutov said the message from all regional stakeholders is clear. "Listen to us. We need help and support immediately."
From the rotating closures of regional health centre wards and departments and doctor shortages to the worsening condition of the highway systems in the region, the group has let their feelings be known.
The Lac La Biche meeting was the third one over the last year, bringing a wide range of regional topics to the table. Over the previous meetings, the group has streamlined their concerns, worked with each other to find common threads, and most importantly, says the mayor, the group has really melded together.
"This is a one of a kind group of leaders in the province. I don't know of other elected officials anywhere else in the province doing this — and this group is not to be mistaken for just another lobby group — we are going to be pushing this," he said.
The letter penned by the group is expected to be sent to provincial officials in the next few weeks. As the province's leadership has just recently changed, Reutov and the other leaders are hoping that their words, delivered during the early days of the new Premier's role, will find traction.
The next meeting for the group is slated for early January 2023 in Cold Lake. There is a thought that several representatives from the provincial government will be invited to the meeting.
Reutov, a newly-elected mayor in the 2021 municipal elections, says he keeps in contact with other members of the larger group, gathering experience from the ones who have been in office for several terms and sharing ideas with first-time politicians like himself.
"We are learning a lot from each other and using that to get what our residents need," he said.
