A Note from our MLA: Leela Sharon Aheer

The Newsy Neighbour Magazine

www.thenewsyneighbour.com

December Issue #110

By Leela Sharon Aheer

Hello Newsy Neighbour readers! We hope you are getting into the spirit of Christmas as we head into the end of November and into the season of parties, baking at epic proportions, deciphering turkey stuffing recipes and navigating parking lots as you head out to finish Christmas shopping. We hope you have a chance to buy locally and contribute to our local economies. These small businesses are the fabric that binds, builds, and strengthens our communities.

We had the pleasure of meeting the Langdon Chamber of Commerce and we were, as always, so inspired by this beautiful community and the spirit of the folks that are so committed to Langdon's growth. We are looking forward to seeing everyone on December the 3rd for the LCA Christmas Carnival or at the local school Christmas concerts. We are also excited about the Newsy Neighbour Best in Business Awards! This event was so successful last year and with our economic downturn, it has never been more important to support our local efforts to shine light on our incredible local businesses. These are the job creators. Our provincial government does not seem to comprehend the immense contribution of these small businesses.

I have been a small business owner for most of my adult life. It has brought me into my community in a deeper and more meaning way. As a result of supporting local business, we see more volunteers, more contributors to local decision making, community outreach, and community accountability. When you provide a good or service to people who live in your community, word of mouth is a powerful tool and keeps businesses progressing and finding ways to improve and provide for our communities. We are very proud of our local businesses and the wonderful communities that support them and remove barriers to success. We will continue to press the provincial government to understand and stop penalizing Albertans for wanting to be successful by a job-killing carbon tax, increased minimum wage, and anti-oil activists who are being paid to participate in panels that actually want to keep our oil in the ground and stop pipelines. The Kinder-Morgan pipeline is scheduled for approval in early December, so hopefully that will be a wake-up call to the government of Alberta.

You may want to keep an eye on three Bills that are before the Legislature. Bill 21, the Modernized Municipal Government Act, is a huge bill that really should be separated into about 20 Bills. It will govern the powers and relationships between the Provincial Government and Municipalities like Rocky View County and will directly affect your life. Please contact my office and Rocky View Councillors if you have any questions.

Bill 25, the Oil Sands Emissions Act, puts a 100 megaton cap on CO2 emissions from the oil sands. This Bill really should be called the “Export Our Jobs And Prosperity To Foreign Jurisdictions That Have Lower Environmental Standards Than We Do Act”. We are trying to get this Bill sent to Committee for further study but we are not hopeful. One issue: the Government has granted leases to more projects than will fit under the cap. Are we going to have to pay these people? The NDP won’t say.

Bill 27, The Renewable Energy Act, seeks to mandate that 30% of Alberta’s power will come from renewables by 2030. Given the disaster in Ontario with their Green Energy Program we are seeking to have this bill referred to committee also to examine exactly how they are going to do this. Again, we’re not hopeful and all I can say is hold onto your wallets, folks. That hand reaching into your pocket belongs to the NDP Government.

As November draws to a close, let me wish all of you an early Merry Christmas in the company of friends and loved ones. Please do what you are able for the less fortunate among us and please stay in touch with your concerns. I am honoured to be your representative in the Legislature and I will keep fighting for common sense policies that make this constituency and province an even better place to live and raise a family.

Leela Sharon Aheer, MLA