INNISFAIL – When Earl Dreeshen considered retiring from teaching 17 years ago he had two goals.
“To grease my combine in the daylight and to find something else interesting and rewarding to do,” said Dreeshen in a recent media release.
He fell short on the combine servicing but found federal politics.
And now he’s making new choices.
On Jan. 21, Dreeshen, the current Conservative MP for the riding of Red Deer-Mountain View, announced he will not be letting his name stand as the Conservative candidate for the new riding of Red Deer in the upcoming federal election.
He served the Central Alberta region over five federal elections since 2008.
“One of the things is the immense travel we have to deal with. I enjoyed all aspects of the job but that certainly was wearing on a person,” said the 71-year-old Pine Lake area farmer and former Innisfail math and science teacher. “I did think about the opportunities I missed to be around family, and that was one of the key thoughts.”
Dreeshen added that at the age of 71, and the possibility of his party securing a majority government in this year’s upcoming federal election, he “started to do the math” and realized he did not want to be in the position where he had to quit during a new term.
Above all else there was family to consider, including his wife Judy, children Megan and Devin and grandchildren Julian, Serena and Conrad.
“My political journey has always been a family endeavour, and the many paths I travelled was with their blessings,” said Dreeshen, whose family has worked and thrived in the region for 120 years. “The local paths I could share with my loved ones but many other paths I had to travel alone.”
In the meantime, federal riding boundaries are changing, and most of his constituents will soon be served by candidates elected to the new ridings of Red Deer and Ponoka-Didsbury.
Dreeshen’s Red Deer-Mountain View riding will cease to exist on election day.
However, he has vowed to continue his duties for his constituents until then.
“We will miss him,” said Innisfail mayor Jean Barclay, who was a student in Dreeshen’s Grade 12 math class at Innisfail High School. “His presence in this community over several decades has served us well, a teacher at the high school for many years and then 17 years in federal politics, and above all else he is a kind person.
“Earl and his office have always been extremely responsive, and easy to set up a meeting with, whether that was in Innisfail or in Red Deer,” added Barclay on her professional relationship with Dreeshen. “We actually have him coming to council on the fourth of February for a meeting. It will give us (council) a chance to thank him.”
Dreeshen will leave politics with a legacy of faithful hardworking service to the Conservative Party and his loyal constituents.
His service has included securing federal funding for the Red Deer Regional Airport expansion, assisting in bringing the 2019 Canada Winter Games to Red Deer, and working with Olds College, Red Deer College and Red Deer Polytechnic to receive federal assistance.
But the one accomplishment that most stands out for Dreeshen was in 2010 when he introduced his private members legislation, Bill C-444; a year after the horrific abduction and sexual assault of a Penhold teen.
In 2010, Gerard John Baumgarte of Red Deer, who was 57 at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, sexual assault and other charges, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
He was also handed a six-month sentence for impersonating a police officer, which ran concurrently with the 18-year sentence.
That same year Dreeshen proposed an amendment to the Criminal Code that sought sentencing of up to five years for impersonating a police officer for the purpose of carrying out a crime.
It became law when it received royal assent in June of 2014.
At the time Dreeshen compared impersonating a police officer to threatening a potential victim with a dangerous weapon, noting citizens teach their children to trust authority figures such as the RCMP.
“There was an opportunity to meet with the victims of the crime and try to come up with something that would be meaningful for future cases,” said Dreeshen. “The interesting part is that once I introduced it we now see that same terminology in most changes that take place with the Criminal Code.
“I think we started a trend and on the legislative front I believe that would probably be something that would be quite memorable.”
And so has Dreeshen’s service for the people of Central Alberta.
After 34 years of teaching and mentoring, and then 17 years on the federal stage, it’s time for a new journey and choices.
Maybe he will just finally and deservingly achieve his goal of greasing his combine in the daylight.
