High Prairie (Facebook)

By Liam Verster

Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pat Rehn

Town of High Prairie demands more accountability, representation in letter to MLA Rehn

Jan 13, 2021 | 2:52 PM

The Town of High Prairie is sending a letter to MLA Pat Rehn and the Premier’s office, demanding that Pat Rehn be more accountable, accessible, and present in his representation of the Lesser Slave Lake electoral district.

The decision to write the letter comes after the Town of Slave Lake voiced their displeasure with the MLA, saying he was often unprepared for meetings, doesn’t spend any time in the community, doesn’t respond to emails or phone calls, and even missed occasional meetings.

READ MORE: Slave Lake town council calls for resignation of MLA Rehn in open letter

While Slave Lake called for Rehn’s resignation in their letter, the Town of High Prairie is taking a gentler approach, and giving the MLA another chance to fairly represent the constituency.

High Prairie Mayor Brian Panasiuk says after holding a special council meeting on Monday, they decided to write a letter to the MLA and Premier’s offices to voice their displeasure of Rehn’s past performance as MLA.

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“We have had some of the same issues [as Slave Lake], though not all of the same issues,” says Panasiuk.

“But certainly our residents and us (Council) have noticed that he hasn’t been in our community as much as previous MLA’s were. And we found that he might not have been as well prepared for the meetings as he should be.”

He adds the public, many of whom voted for Rehn in the last election, have also become frustrated with the MLA, with some members of the public calling for his resignation.

However, the Town has decided to not demand Rehn’s resignation just yet, and instead demand better representation and accountability.

“We’d like to see him in our community some more, we’d like him to be meeting with us more regularly, and communicating back to us. Those are the big things that we’d like to see.”

In the letter, the Town didn’t outline a firm timeline for when they want to see some positive changes, and instead left it up to Rehn to step up.

“One of the things we did ask for was for [Rehn] to say a little bit about what he was going to do for our community and our residents, and we’re hoping he’ll respond and let us know what he thinks he should be doing.”

Panasiuk says he’s been in contact with Rehn in the past week, and has received some confirmation that change for the better may be coming. He says Rehn has been working to schedule meetings with Ministers on the Town’s behalf, and promising to be available and more prepared for meetings.

If that change doesn’t come though, or if it tapers off and the region is left without proper representation, then the Town may decide to call for Rehn’s resignation.

Panasiuk adds that depending on how the MLA acts in the next little while will determine how he is perceived by the public, who will ultimately have a say in Rehn’s future as MLA the next time his name is on the ballot.

“It was the people that voted him in, and they’re going to have the ultimate rights to take him out if they’re not happy with him at the end of the day.”

The letter was signed by Town Council on Wednesday, and sent to the MLA and Premier’s office, and Panasiuk says he hopes to get a response back soon.