Wheatland County council has passed a motion calling for major changes on how Alberta is treated in Confederation – but backed down on a demand to hold a referendum on independence if not..More than 40 people attended the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday for the Alberta First Resolution debate..The motion calls for the province’s withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan, a start to collecting it’s own income tax, the end of equalization payments, Senate reform, replacing the RCMP and better control over immigration into Alberta..Division 1 Councillor Jason Wilson first proposed the resolution to Council on November 5. Council requested additional feedback after the Dec. 3 meeting and offered an opportunity for residents to have their say either online or in-person at Tuesday’s meeting..“I’ve had the honour to hear from residents of the county and people all over the province, whether it be locals, municipal leaders or even MPs, the vast majority believe that Alberta is getting a raw deal from the federal government,” Wilson said..“We want Ottawa to understand our frustrations.”. REVISED: Wheatland County calls on Kenney to ease COVID restrictionsJason Wilson .Although it wasn’t an actual public hearing, County Reeve Amber Link told the crowd they would treat it similarly for process and asked those in favour to come forward to speak to the resolution..Allan McLelland said: “I believe all levels of government need to collaborate, regardless of whether they’re federal or municipal. I think it addresses problems we’ve had in the past.”.“Because of the past provincial government, that being the NDP, and the federal Liberals at the same time, they managed to cripple Alberta to the point of no return. Consequently, our new Premier, Mr. Kenney, has inherited their total mess which possibly can never be repaired,” said a local businessman..“Our province boomed for decades; Ottawa will keep grinding Alberta into the dirt with poverty being inevitable. Alberta was thriving on its own – but guess what? Those days are over,” he said..He concluded by adding that he was in favour of the Fair Deal the UCP government is currently working toward and believes it should be the final attempt at remaining part of Confederation..Those against the motion were mostly concerned with the final paragraph regarding the referendum on independence but also the over-reliance on the oil and gas industry to pay the bills, loss of services due to the unsustainable provincial tax structure and downloading responsibilities to municipalities..“The biggest concern we’re hearing is that the final paragraph has branded us as separatists,” Coun. Donna Biggar said..She then proposed an amendment to remove the paragraph from the resolution, which was passed by a vote of four to three. The resolution was then accepted by council by a vote of four to three..The resolution will now be brought to the Central Zone meeting of Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) where Wheatland County will propose it for sponsorship in January. If the resolution receives sponsorship, it will be brought to the RMA meeting in the fall of 2020 for the same..RMA acts as an advocate on behalf of rural municipalities with other levels of government.
Wheatland County council has passed a motion calling for major changes on how Alberta is treated in Confederation – but backed down on a demand to hold a referendum on independence if not..More than 40 people attended the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday for the Alberta First Resolution debate..The motion calls for the province’s withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan, a start to collecting it’s own income tax, the end of equalization payments, Senate reform, replacing the RCMP and better control over immigration into Alberta..Division 1 Councillor Jason Wilson first proposed the resolution to Council on November 5. Council requested additional feedback after the Dec. 3 meeting and offered an opportunity for residents to have their say either online or in-person at Tuesday’s meeting..“I’ve had the honour to hear from residents of the county and people all over the province, whether it be locals, municipal leaders or even MPs, the vast majority believe that Alberta is getting a raw deal from the federal government,” Wilson said..“We want Ottawa to understand our frustrations.”. REVISED: Wheatland County calls on Kenney to ease COVID restrictionsJason Wilson .Although it wasn’t an actual public hearing, County Reeve Amber Link told the crowd they would treat it similarly for process and asked those in favour to come forward to speak to the resolution..Allan McLelland said: “I believe all levels of government need to collaborate, regardless of whether they’re federal or municipal. I think it addresses problems we’ve had in the past.”.“Because of the past provincial government, that being the NDP, and the federal Liberals at the same time, they managed to cripple Alberta to the point of no return. Consequently, our new Premier, Mr. Kenney, has inherited their total mess which possibly can never be repaired,” said a local businessman..“Our province boomed for decades; Ottawa will keep grinding Alberta into the dirt with poverty being inevitable. Alberta was thriving on its own – but guess what? Those days are over,” he said..He concluded by adding that he was in favour of the Fair Deal the UCP government is currently working toward and believes it should be the final attempt at remaining part of Confederation..Those against the motion were mostly concerned with the final paragraph regarding the referendum on independence but also the over-reliance on the oil and gas industry to pay the bills, loss of services due to the unsustainable provincial tax structure and downloading responsibilities to municipalities..“The biggest concern we’re hearing is that the final paragraph has branded us as separatists,” Coun. Donna Biggar said..She then proposed an amendment to remove the paragraph from the resolution, which was passed by a vote of four to three. The resolution was then accepted by council by a vote of four to three..The resolution will now be brought to the Central Zone meeting of Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) where Wheatland County will propose it for sponsorship in January. If the resolution receives sponsorship, it will be brought to the RMA meeting in the fall of 2020 for the same..RMA acts as an advocate on behalf of rural municipalities with other levels of government.
