Dear Editor,
In a recent article in the Independent, it was reported that members of Stettler' s municipal council "expressed a mixture of frustration, disappointment, and even anger, at a special council meeting" that had been "called to combat what councilors called misinformation being shared in the county about both the county shop project and councilor code of conduct."
In the midst of this public meeting, my name and role as an MLA got pulled into the dialogue; the insinuation being that I am involved in a local petition and plebiscite campaign. This is not true. Nor, as was stated at the meeting, is there a municipal petition available for signing at my office.
During the years that I have been an MLA, constituents have approached me with a wide array of questions and problems. In many instances, the inquiries end up being related to a federal responsibility, or to a matter within the sole jurisdiction of a municipal or county government.
When this happens, I am obligated to tell people that what they're asking is outside of my jurisdiction. One of my constituency staff members will occasionally make a phone call to advise other levels of government about a constituent's difficulty or problem. But it is never my role as an MLA to insert myself into local municipal affairs, or to be telling our federally elected MPs and their staff what they should or shouldn't be doing.
That being said, when I get approached by a constituent asking about an issue that is clearly within provincial jurisdiction, as the MLA, it is my responsibility to tell that person what I know or to get the answers if I don't.
If that constituent makes an inquiry about the Municipal Governance Act, asking what the legislation says about plebiscites and petitions, our obligation is to tell that individual what we know. If there are provincial services available related to the issue that the individual is asking about, it's also our job to refer them to those agencies. We do this kind of thing all the time, on a wide range of issues.
It is never my role, or the responsibility of my staff, to quiz people about why they ask us a question. Frankly, it's none of our business. Nor is it our role to try to talk people into, or out of, doing something they might ask about, such as initiating a municipal petition.
Rick Strankman, MLA