WESTLOCK - Westlock County Division 1 incumbent Victor Julyan is taking a broader view in his quest to retain his seat in this fall’s municipal election, citing a lack of provincial guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic as just one of the reasons he’s letting his name stand again.
Julyan, who won his seat in 2017 by an 88-vote margin over then-incumbent Ron Zadunayski, wrote in an e-mail that he had “put off registering for this election because I thought the county was going in the right direction. I am no longer confident it is thanks to a number of issues.”
Top of the list for the semi-retired chartered professional accountant is COVID-19 — specifically the lack of guidance from the province. Nomination day is Sept. 20, while election day is Oct. 18 — Division 1 is the first to have an actual race with Sherri Provencal recently announcing her candidacy.
“The county also lacks a (COVID-19) policy,” said Julyan, who moved to Alberta with his family in 1975 from the United Kingdom. “We live in a sea of unvaccinated people and it won’t be over until many more do the right thing. I am concerned there are people we work with every day who are unvaccinated. This pandemic is far from over and making people feel good may suit the politicians, but making them safe is a better policy. All councillors should be vaccinated,” he added, offering up that he is fully vaccinated.
Julyan, who’s served on committees ranging from the Regional Waste Management Commission to the Westlock Regional Municipal Airport Advisory Board and Family & Community Support Services over the last four-year term, also questioned whether the county should begin doing its part in regards to climate change.
“Should Westlock County be carbon neutral? Should we have building requirements for new builds that are even more energy saving?” he asked. “Our grandchildren, great grandchildren and everyone born from now on face a tremendous change in our climate in the coming years. What is done today and in all our tomorrow’s affects how bad it will be.
“It is a time to act, not talk. What else is needed? We need to identify and introduce policies for a safer future. This is the most important issue and it is certainly bigger than the pandemic.”
Locally, Julyan said he’d like to see action taken in regards to the spring flooding in Division 1, an issue that dovetails with climate change and has probably cost farmers “millions of dollars.”
“This year has been a great exception, but most years many farmers have had to wait and hope to get lucky to get a crop in,” he said. “I believe we need a committee of local farmers who are affected by the creeks that run through Division 1. They would make recommendations to our council as to its management and problem areas. At the moment there is no move to help the farmers who are most affected. That should be an important action for the new council.”
Roads, no matter which division, are always a talking point for ratepayers. Julyan, whose division neighbours Sturgeon County, would like the province to collect all the municipal taxes and spread them evenly across the board to level the playing field.
“The roads are not such a problem this year due to the dry spring. But we live in a county with a minimum of paved roads and the principal reason is taxation,” he noted. “We live next to counties rich in industrial plants. Those plants pay for those roads. I believe the province should be the tax collector of this income which is to the benefit of all Albertans and it should be distributed to all the counties.”
