ATHABASCA – One of the Town of Athabasca’s new council’s first acts will be to bring forward a special resolution regarding rural economic sustainability at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s upcoming conference.
A request for decision from mayor Rob Balay at the new council’s first regular meeting Nov. 2 recommended the approval of a motion stating the Town of Athabasca would do just that, and despite not having the exact wording of the resolution just yet, the intention of the motion was clear, and the forthcoming resolution already has the commitment of a seconder to bring it to the AUMA floor, where it will be voted on by other members.
Balay told council he and CAO Rachel Ramey had discussed such a resolution with the mayor and CAO of the City of Lacombe, who were willing to back it at the 2021 AUMA Convention in Edmonton Nov. 17-20, as they have also seen steady job losses since the city’s major employer started hiring remote employees from outside the province, as Athabasca has with Athabasca University.
He added the lobbyist hired by the Keep Athabasca in Athabasca University advocacy group will also help draft the final resolution.
“I don't know if council is aware of the situation in Lacombe with the Financial Credit Corporation and the latest directive that they can work remotely from anywhere in the province, or in Canada. That, of course, would be a similar situation that we’re facing with Athabasca University,” Balay said, adding “the special resolution will highlight the critical role that rural communities play in nation building and provincial economic growth, and urges the provincial government to ensure that policies and programs respond to specific needs of rural communities.”
Ramey added the town was approached by the City of Lacombe after reading former mayor Colleen Powell’s op-ed on the subject in the Edmonton Journal.
“They were feeling the same way that we are and thought maybe we could collaborate on something to lobby our government to make sure that we keep jobs in our communities and in our province … We talked about the similarities that we're facing and maybe other communities in the province are also facing that we're not aware of,” she said.
Balay gave examples of the closure of the Alberta Distance Learning Centre in Barrhead, the lotteries commission in Stettler and the federal immigration centre in Vegreville in the last several years. Later in the meeting the Swan Hills special waste treatment facility was also mentioned as a closure that will have a tremendous impact on that rural community's future.
Coun. Ida Edwards said she has been collecting press releases from the provincial government in recent weeks and in them there is a lot of talk about supporting rural economics, jobs and technology, but it doesn’t seem to line up with the reality.
“That comes from the mouths of several of our ministers,” she said. “I’m appalled at what's happening to our small communities with this idea that you can work anywhere and be virtual, but Alberta tax dollars are going out of province, so who gets taxed on that income? And who gets to tax that income?”
Council passed the motion unanimously.
“Even if we weren't successful in the vote, just the fact that all of government is there (at AUMA), the resolution is going to bring awareness and I think it would be a win for us,” said Balay.