INNISFAIL – The region’s MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake has been the target of a Chalk Protest, with renewed calls to be more visible and accessible for constituents.
On Aug. 21, a large chalk mural, containing several messages concerning policy, was drawn outside Devin Dreeshen’s Innisfail office.
"It seemed pretty silly in my mind. One of the first sayings on the chalk writings said, ‘do you even farm bro?’’’ said Dreeshen last week. “Whatever insulting or whatever things they were trying to get at…there was a union official there monitoring the protestors.”
Dreeshen’s latter comment drew a quick response from constituent Jason Heistad, a past three-term town councillor and current secretary-treasurer of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, who led 25 other constituents last March to the MLA’s office for an impromptu meeting following a town hall meeting on the provincial doctors dispute. Dreeshen’s office said he was unavailable to meet constituents.
Heistad said he was outside the office only for a few minutes to drop off buttons of support for local doctors.
“I was not monitoring. I did not want to take part in the chalk writing because I knew that was a separate issue from me trying to have my meeting just before COVID. That was not my protest,” said Heistad, adding he has tried unsuccessfully for four months to have a meeting with Dreeshen. “All I’ve gotten is one email from him. I am a citizen.”
Innisfail-area resident Alana Randol, who lives 20 kilometres west of town on a farm, was one of the 26 citizens who also tried to have that March meeting with Dreeshen.
Inspired by a Twitter thread, Randol and another local area mom went to Dreeshen’s Innisfail office on Aug. 21 armed with inexpensive removable sidewalk chalk.
“He (Dreeshen) won’t take meetings. He has secretaries answering his emails with UCP form letters,” said Randol. “He doesn’t appear to be in Innisfail. He doesn’t answer constituents’ meeting requests or phone calls. He doesn’t seem to have any kind of focus on the Innisfail and Sylvan Lake area at all.”
Dreeshen said last week he was not rattled by Randol’s chalk protest. In fact, he gave Randol and her friend credit for being respectful.
“I will at least give it to them that unlike the last time they protested in my office when they actually came in and swarmed my office staff when I was up in Edmonton, standing behind her while she was sitting behind her desk, yelling, just crowding her and making her feel uncomfortable at her work space, being outside and playing with chalk was a lot better protest in my mind, a lot more respectful,” said Dreeshen, adding he did not report the chalk protest to local RCMP.
Heistad vehemently rejected the MLA’s version of the office protest last March.
“We were very respectful at his office,” said Heistad. “There was no yelling. There was very little room. We weren’t swarming anybody. We are not hornets or bees. We were just individuals who just wanted a conversation.”
Dreeshen’s response to the concerns in Innisfail and area over a lack of visibility is that he has two constituency offices in the geographically sprawling riding but does attempt to get to as many events as possible. However, COVID has forced many cancellations.
Nevertheless, added Dreeshen, there is a special fondness for Innisfail and there will be time allotted to hear the concerns of Innisfailians.
“I was born and raised in Innisfail, so I obviously care about the people in Innisfail as well but when it comes to calendars and schedules you are always stretched for where you can be. There’s only one of me,” he said. “As I have always done for over two years as being MLA I have always tried to make as much time as possible for constituents, you bet.”
