Will Gordon – Leader Staff
The window still says Colin Piquette, but there’s a new man in the office.
Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken opened up an Athabasca constituency office in the Town of Athabasca June 21, where he met with locals and held a cake-cutting ceremony.
“It’s a pleasure to open up an office in Athabasca,” van Dijken said before joking about sharing space with the town officials at 4705 49. Ave. “I’m a little bit nervous about being in the town office. The town always has lots of requests.”
Officials like Village of Boyle chief administrative officer Charlie Ashbey and Town of Athabasca Coun. Ida Edwards came out to meet van Dijken. Interested locals and groups like the president of Westwind Park Bob Horseman and a delegation of members from Citizens On Patrol came down to see their representative.
The office is set to be open Tuesdays and Fridays. With a Barrhead and Athabasca office, van Dijken said he hopes to arrange face-to-face meetings for Fridays due to a busy provincial legislature schedule.
van Dijken said these offices were important for learning local issues.
“There are times where individuals need to meet face to face, and it’s an important part to be able to navigate anything the provincial government has oversight on,” he said. “Unless people actually contact me, there’s a lot of stuff I won’t be aware of. That’s how I learn, from the people.”
Second term
“Second term is all about rural representation,” van Dijken said.
van Dijken was the MLA for Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock with a rural-urban mix until the riding was changed to include Athabasca. Now, van Dijken says he will focus on rural issues like infrastructure, education and healthcare.
“It’s important for me to be a strong rural representative,” he said. “We need to have a recognition on the value that rural Alberta brings to the overall picture of a successful province. Our industries are largely in the rural areas.”
Experience
In his second term as an MLA, van Dijken said he hit the ground running.
“From day one I got a good understanding on the procedures and processes,” he said.
He compared it to his first term when he was still learning the ropes.
“When you are learning it, all the legislature procedure you are involved in, the constituents get neglected a bit because you have to focus so much time on learning that aspect,” van Dijken said.”It’s like anything. As we learn through life, you go to school, it becomes second nature.”
Some things are harder now, too.
“We came out of an opposition into a governing caucus,” van Dijken said. “You have to be more strategic coming to a caucus meeting.”
van Dijken spoke about his June 3 motion to get a local economic impact assessment when government services are being considered for centralization or relocation as an example.
van Dijken rose in the House June 3 to speak in favour of Motion 502, his first as an MLA, which, after about an hour of discussion, passed unanimously with support from government and Opposition MLAs.
“It took more work,” van Dijken said, noting he had to organize a rural-focused motion to a wider group. “If you don’t do the legwork before, then you don’t get the buy-in.”
Still, van Dijken said he feels like he has it under control.
“It all feels like it is easier. It feels like it’s continued on.”
Indigenous Day
With the office opening on Indigenous Day, the Athabasca Advocate asked van Dijken what the constituency needed to do following the final report issued by the national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
“I think what we all need to be working on a continually basis is relationships,” van Dijken said. “Moving forward, recognizing when policies and procedures have done harm rather than good. Learn from that. Apologize for that. Move forward from that. Find ways that allow us to move forward.”
van Dijken said it was important to have healthy conversation.
“We need to be open to those conversations and not build walls,” he said.
Earplugs
During June 26’s night session in Legislature, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney handed out earplugs during a debate. van Dijken said he didn’t wear the earplugs.
“There was no need for it,” he said. “The earplugs came in after. There’s good arguments and points that get made, but then there’s time when you stood up for an hour and said nothing.”
van Dijken said he will be back in Athabasca for the Magnificent River Rats Festival.
