The meeting between Albertaís Human Services Minister Irfan Sabir and community stakeholders in Athabasca March 29 garnered positive comments from the attendees.
Sabir met with local government officials and about 10 service providers to hear about local issues.
Town of Athabasca Mayor Roger Morrill said the meeting was positive.
ìPersonally, I think itís going to give the minister a much better understanding as to whatís going on, directly related to our community,î he said. ìI mean, itís easy for us to send information or for these groups to send information to him in his Edmonton office, but itís another thing for him to just come right into our town and see people face to face.î
Morrill said the key to the meeting was all the stakeholders at the table.
ìOur stakeholders did not waste this opportunity and provided excellent presentations, giving all concerned probably a much better understanding of some of the challenges we face in delivering these services to our community,î he said.
ìI think the one thing you would have been impressed with was the amount of note-taking the minister was taking. Lots of different things were brought to his attention.î
Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette was also at the meeting to assist the minister, and he echoed the mayorís observation.
ìI was really impressed that the great majority of the time, he actually listened and he listened carefully,î Piquette said. ìI saw him taking very good notes, and I think it shows that it proves what heís saying ñ that we really take engagement seriously and stakeholders have direct access to the government. We appreciate him coming down to Athabasca and weíd love to see him again.î
Athabasca County Reeve Doris Splane said she looked forward to seeing the results of the meeting.
ìThe meeting with Minister Sabir was a great opportunity to showcase what community supports are currently being made available to residents of the region, and to take note of what challenges exist with the provision of those services,î she said.
ìPersonally, it was an eye-opening experience to see the growing complexity of needs that our human services staff assist individuals and families with. I commend all members of the inter-agency partnership, including Athabasca Countyís FCSS (Family and Community Support Services) staff, for their dedication in helping others.î
The minister replied in a post-meeting interview that he was pleased to see the level of collaboration and co-operation among the organizations.
