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'There is a hopeful and bright future for this province' says Premier

While doing a tour of northeastern Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney sat down with LakelandToday to discuss issues facing the province

LAKELAND - Premier Jason Kenney toured the Lakeland region last week, stopping in a number of communities throughout the northeast, making announcements, and meeting with municipal councils to discuss a variety of issues and concerns.

On Thursday night, Kenney was in Lac La Biche at the Lac La Biche POST newspaper office, for a sit down with Lakeland This Week, discussing issues regarding proposed municipal assessment model changes, a return to classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and rural crime.

"It's great to be here, to see . . . how folks are coping. And I must say how impressed I am, not surprised, but impressed I am by Albertans. This has been a triple whammy year with the biggest public health crisis in a century, the biggest economic contraction in 90 years, plus the largest collapse in oil prices ever. And all of this is hurting Alberta," said Kenney, as he spoke about his tour of the region. 

He said part of the reason for the tour was to talk to Albertans about the province's recovery plan, which he describes as a "bold plan to diversify the economy, to build and to create jobs."

"There is a hopeful and bright future for this province . . . A lot of people have struggled through the past five tough economic years. And then many of them have been hit by the pandemic and this global coronavirus recession. I just want to encourage those Albertans to believe in the future of this province," said Kenney.

"There is a plan," he affirmed. The Premier believes Albertan's are resilient and are known for their entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic.

Along with announcing upgrades to the Cold Lake Fish Hatchery on Aug. 6, Kenney was also in Vermilion earlier in the week, announcing $17.27 million dollars for upgrades at Lakeland College. Funds will be put toward upgrading the Mead Building, which is home to the college’s animal science centre. Renovations will help ensure the college’s essential research and learning spaces can continue to serve the region for years to come, according to the provincial government.

When speaking specifically about the past five months, Kenney offered a thank-you to residents in the region for "their tremendous responsibility during the COVID pandemic, because we have seen very few cases . . .  northeast Albertans have done extremely well."

When asked how he personally handled the stresses of the first few months of the pandemic, Kenney was candid, saying he spent his downtime watching Netflix and going for long walks.

"I must admit, during the height of the COVID . . . it was my condo and the office, back and forth for weeks upon weeks of high stress," said the Premier. "Occasionally, I would turn on Netflix. I don’t own a TV because I find it a waste of time, so I made my way through two or three Netflix series over the course of the last five months. And, for a while I was going on long walks as well. I have to come up with some healthier pursuits, I suppose," he said, with a laugh.

Elk Point  

As Kenney toured the region, he met with municipal councils to discuss a variety of issues. Following a meeting on Aug. 5, the Town of Elk Point sent out a media release, stating the municipality brought up issues around the need for improved broadband in the community, region and province.

Town of Elk Point Mayor Lorne Young spoke about the importance of high speed Internet for education, healthcare, emergency services, energy sector, agriculture, and many other organizations. Young advised the Premier about how the Town of Elk Point needs to diversify and attract industry to create jobs and how broadband plays a huge part in being sustainable.

The Elk Point mayor requested the Premier look into why the municipality didn't receive a response regarding a report prepared on broadband by the economic development alliance, Alberta HUB, which represents a large group municipalities and First Nations and Métis communities in the region. The Premier said he would look into the issue.

Bonnyville

Town of Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski said discussions with the Premier included the regional waterline coming in $10-million over budget, and the position the town will be in if the province doesn’t cover a portion of the overage.

“He needed to hear some of the issues that we’ve also been speaking with our MLA on, and that there’s going to be a requirement for some intervention and assistance to overcome these issues,” Sobolewski said, adding, he hopes Kenney will take the concerns seriously.


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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