Although she didn’t win the election for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in April, Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater candidate Mandy Melnyk is continuing to fight for residents with the belief that a change is needed in order to get things done for a better future.
In recent weeks, Melnyk has been on a steady diet of phone calls and hearing concerns from the people in the Athabasca-Redwater-Sturgeon constituency who are not happy with the current government regime. Because all those who have taken the time to call the former electoral candidate have said that the re-elected Progressive Conservative (PC) government made big promises during the campaign and have yet to follow through, Melnyk said she feels it’s important to keep pushing for change.
“I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls recently from people who are concerned about a lot of things, one in particular is the dialysis unit because people are concerned about the inaction that is taking place,” Melnyk said in reference to a community movement to have a local dialysis unit. “The impression I’m getting from quite a few people is that they feel that nothing is going to change now or anytime soon. This is not the way it should be and the government should be fighting for its people and what they want to see changed.”
Melnyk said that in addition to the dialysis unit, she has received numerous phone calls regarding the unacceptably high electric bills throughout not just the constituency but also the whole province. She added that she has collected a petition with thousands of signatures on it from her campaign to have electric bills re-regulated for more affordable costs for everyone.
The fact that there are no incentives for small business is also a point of interest for Melnyk who noted that the government gave the Alberta Energy Corridor (AEC) close to a quarter of a million dollars, but in turn has made it impossible for any of the municipalities to really have a vote in what the AEC does because it costs $100,000 just to become a member.
The AEC is a government and industry funded agency that is supposed to focus on economic development in the Athabasca, Boyle and Wandering River area and Melnyk said the money the agency received from the government was funded through tax payers and yet the money is going to profit other people instead of making it easier for small and local businesses to get a leg up.
Not only does Melnyk feel that small businesses are suffering at the hand of the current government, she noted that emergency services, especially along the contentious Highway 63, are also in dire need of more personnel and not just finding ways to make the road larger.
“Highway 63 is a big issue at the moment and everyone is talking about twinning it and finding ways to reduce the pressure on the road, but has any one person, any one MLA mentioned emergency services,” asked Melnyk. “Its not just about the road itself, it’s about making sure there are enough emergency people to cover it as well. We need more paid service staff and more support from the government because we can’t keep relying so heavily on volunteers.”
Melnyk also said that a big issue for her to keep pursuing is the environment. She noted she feels it’s important for Albertans, and the rest of the world, to be respectful of the land and oil industries and the government needs to be held accountable.
“I think Albertans have to be more careful than we have been, especially since we’ve had two oil spills and pipeline leaks in the past few weeks alone,” she said. “We can’t forget that we are stewards of the land and the water. I think we cannot support the draconian style changes to environmental laws that the government is looking at that are grossly under-researched. We need to continue to work and monitor the air and water very carefully.”
One other issue on Melnyk’s horizon includes fighting against the privatization of long-term health care. She feels they don’t respect their employees as much and it will create an insecure labour market adding that when things get privatized there is always an additional cost for profit. Another concern on the list is guaranteeing the promised increased programming for Thorhild School.
“Aspen View [School Division] said they would increase the programming at the school in Thorhild and they haven’t done so and in fact have cut their budget to $360,000 which will certainly not bring in more programming,” Melnyk said. “I’m surprised by this given that the re-elected MLA for the area, Jeff Johnson, is the Minister of Education.”
For Melnyk, the fight is far from over and she feels it’s important for her to keep fighting for her potential constituents in the years to come. She noted that she plans to continue to work closely with people in the Athabasca-Redwater-Sturgeon riding to hopefully create some change in the near future.
“I hope I’ve built up some credibility throughout the campaign and I will continue to do so over the next four years because there is a huge amount of support for me to run again and I look forward to being able to do that,” Melnyk said. “I hope to continue to advocate for people’s rights – like the right to have protected water, fair wages, no privatized long term care, and more rights for students.
“Defeatism is more dangerous than defeat and I certainly will not give up and will fight for more equality and more power for the people, because they are ultimately the ones that the government needs to be held accountable to.”
