NDP supporters gather at Grande Prairie Coffee Co. to meet and talk with the MLAs (photo by Liam Verster)

By Liam Verster

NDP MLAs visit Grande Prairie

Three members of the Official Opposition visit Grande Prairie

Feb 19, 2020 | 2:11 PM

Three NDP MLA’s are in Grande Prairie this week, where they are visiting with local councillors, meeting with the public, and attending the Growing the North Conference.

Joe Cecei, the Critic for Municipal Affairs and MLA for Calgary-Buffalo, Lorne Dach, Critic for Agriculture and Forestry and MLA for Edmonton-McClung, and Thomas Dang, Critic for Infrastructure and MLA for Edmonton-South, teamed up to make the trip to Grande Prairie, in order to explore the city and the region, meet people, and attend the conference.

Dang says they were able to spend some time with many councillors from around the region, who have told them that they are unhappy with the direction the United Conservative Party has taken.

“They’re not happy with changes to funding for policing, they’re not happy with changes to funding to MSI, which is the Municipal Infrastructure Funding. So it means projects that they’re not going to be able to build or maintain, are going to get downloaded in tax dollars, onto the citizens here.”

Cecei adds that the UCP has been dictating what should go on in municipalities.

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“What I hear most is that people don’t feel the engagement with this government. They feel like they’re being told to do things, instead of understanding what the issues are, and then working together.”

Dang says what appears to be happening is that the Government is not listening, and essentially is asking people to pay more, and get less.

“They’re going to have to pay more in municipal taxes, they’re going to have to pay more for their schooling, they’re going to have to pay more for everything, and they’re going to get less services overall.”

Dach adds that rather than try a trickle-down economics austerity budget, which he says has been discredited in the past, a government needs to investment in industries that can perform in economic downturns and help grow and diversify the economy. However, he says the UCP has been doing the opposite.

“It’s hurting a lot of people, and people are not exactly happy with what this government is offering, which is a terrific bait-and-switch, where $4.7-billion was given away to large corporations in tax giveaways, with the intent of creating jobs, but not one job has been created. What we want to do, what we’re trying to do, is create jobs by ensuring that individuals are going to invest in the economy were actually given the money to invest, and given the opportunity to invest.”

Cecei says because of this, municipalities are going to be “taking the blame for the increases,” because the Province has download the costs onto municipalities and dictated how they should run, rather than open a dialogue and work together in a partnership to come up with solutions.

“The Province is not stupid, they’re crafty, and they’re kind of off loading costs onto municipalities, and municipalities are going to have to raise taxes, and get the blame for it.

“So, Jason Kenney said ‘I’m going to make your life more affordable.’ He’s not changing his tax regime, he’s giving away taxes [to corporations], but he’s making municipalities pick it up.”

From the agricultural producers and the forestry side, Dach says he’s heard about a lot of issues.

“One of the things I’ve heard, particularly about the RAP Attack firefighters (Wildland Firefighter Rappel Program), who were axed in the last budget, there was a lot of concern over that. They figured that $1.9-million that was saved was a big mistake, and the first time a fire that grows from a small one to a big one, and starts licking at the outskirts of a city like Grande Prairie, the wisdom of that decision will be fully lit.

“Also, agricultural producers are seriously hurting here. Whether you’re a grain farmer, or a cattle producer, or even a honey producer, all are feeling the pinch of the bad weather and international market conditions that are halting our grain export.

“So there’s a lot of angst in the agricultural and forestry sections, that are not being quelled by the Government right now, and they’re fearful about what’s going to happen in this next budget, that only follows four months after the last one.”

Along with attending the Conference and meeting with people, the three members of the opposition held an event at the Grande Prairie Coffee Co. on Tuesday evening, to attract supporters and hear input from the general public. They say they want to get back to the way they were running the province from 2015-19, to help grow the economy through diversification, and invest in municipalities. They say the input gathered from their visit will be used to help shape policies that the NDP can run on in the next election.

Dach adds that Grande Prairie is neither a Conservative or an NDP riding, but instead it’s a riding of individuals who want their families to move ahead and be prosperous. He says the UCP isn’t able to provide that stability, and there is fear for the future, and if there isn’t a positive change, the next election will go a different way.