Premier Jim Prentice rolled through the Highwood constituency on April 10, making a quick stop in High River in an attempt to sweeten up local voters.
After chatting with residents at Sheena’s Sweets and Such, posing for photos and satisfying his sweet tooth, Prentice took some time to discuss the issues that Highwood PC candidate Carrie Fischer has been advocating for.
The likelihood of closing the Disaster Recovery Program files from the 2013 flood in time for his self-imposed deadline of June 1 is a top concern, but Prentice said he’s satisfied with the progress that has been made so far.
“Everything I hear about the progress that we made in the community is really exceptional, people are very happy and I just met with one of the citizens from the DRP committee who was applauding the changes that we made three months ago and the progress that we've seen,” Prentice said, referring to the recent increase of case workers on the DRP and a policy change that has seen advanced payments increase to 90 per cent up from 50.
While there are still 753 files open, Prentice said he is still aiming to have them all closed by June 1.
“It's never easy, this was the biggest disaster in Canadian history but I think if you look, we started with close to 5,000 files and we're now down to about 753, that's pretty good progress,” he said. “At this point we've paid out… about $55 million, so everyone wants to do this as quickly as possible and to help the families that are affected as quickly as possible.”
In terms of preventing future disasters, Prentice said the Province is actively moving forward with plans for diversion projects to protect High River and communities downstream, and said he intends to work closely with High River Mayor Craig Snodgrass.
“The mayor has a very good handle on this… he has very strong points of view about the best things to do and the most effective ways to spend the dollars. I applaud his diligence on this, he's been a tremendous advocate for the community and we're proceeding with this in the matter he's recommended,” Prentice said. “We're moving ahead with the diversionary projects that we've committed to, at this point we're into some of the detailed design work and acquisition of land.”
Outside of High River, Prentice acknowledged the need for funding to go towards the water pipeline from Calgary to Okotoks, and said he intends to work on the issue with Fischer.
“It's an important project, obviously there's some work to be done in terms of water licences and working together on a regional basis with other municipalities,” Prentice said. “So we're well aware of the importance of the project, Carrie Fischer and I have spoken about it she's an outspoken advocate of what needs to be done and I look forward to working with her on it.”
But after reducing funding for the Water for Life program by $20 million in the proposed budget last month, Prentice admitted that it’s something he doesn’t see happening anytime soon.
“Water for Life is an important program when it comes to water projects such as this, the challenge clearly that we face in the province right now is we're facing a $7 billion, deficit this year, $6 billion next year, $4 billion, $5 billion the year after that,” Prentice explained. “So, these are challenging times we have to make tough decisions and we can’t do everything as quickly as we like but we're aware of how important the project is.”
Fischer said she too is looking forward to working with Prentice and was pleased that he decided to visit Highwood.
“It was just great for the premier to stop in and give us some of his time,” she said. “I know he's very busy right now and it's important that he shows support for High River and Highwood and I’m glad that he's here.”
While recent poll numbers have showed the PCs lagging behind other parties, Fischer said she isn’t worried.
“I don't pay attention to polls at all, it doesn't really matter until the polls close on election day, that's the only one that really matters,” she said. “I just plan to do it the same way we've done all the other campaigns that we've worked on and my campaign in town is at the doors talking to people and finding out what's important to them and trying to earn their vote.”
As of April 7, Okotoks Coun. Carrie Fischer has taken an unpaid leave of absence from town council until May 6, 2015 as she campaigns as the PC candidate in Highwood for the next provincial election.
While Fischer does not legally have to take a leave from council until being officially elected as an MLA after the election, she said she felt it was the right decision to make.
“I just felt it was important to create that little bit of distance from council,” Fischer said. “So, people know that right now when I'm speaking it's very clearly as the PC candidate and there's no ambiguity between that role and my role as councillor.”
Council will continue to function with only six representatives until the election. If Fischer is selected as the Highwood MLA, Okotoks council will have to call a byelection within 90 days to fill the seat.
