Wildrose MLAs Nathan Cooper and Jason Nixon gave Mountain View County council an update on the ongoing consultations around the controversial Bill 6, also known as the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act.
The first-term MLAs appeared before council on March 23 for the first time since the last provincial election.
The Bill 6 legislation brings farms and farm workers under Occupational Health and Safety regulations. It has already passed third reading.
The government says the legislation will improve protection for workers on farms and ranches and that it has the support of the majority of Albertans.
Consultations on Bill 6 are ongoing, including the formation of panels to examine various parts of the legislation. Nixon and Cooper said they have heard concerns from constituents about that consultation process.
“I've heard a tremendous amount of frustration from our communities on the selection process for those panels,” said Nixon, who is the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre. “I have not seen a final list (of the panel memberships) myself. I have heard a lot of frustration. We are not getting a lot of information. From what we are hearing from our constituents is the level of consultation is still not what our communities are expecting.
“We have, as the Opposition, significant disagreements with portions of that bill. As we see this progress we can make decisions at a later date.
“It appears still that the government is struggling through the process of Bill 6 and is not finding ways to interact with the community.”
Cooper said Wildrose has reservations about the consultation process.
“With respect to Bill 6 it was never the intention of the (official) Opposition to stop it or just be opposed,” said Cooper, who is the MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. “What our intention was and still is, is that people be heard and our frustration with the current consultation process is 60 people (on the panels) are going to heard.
“There are currently no public meetings planned. We don't know who the 60 people are. They may be a great group or it might not have regular, normal front-line farmers on it. At the end of the day we need to make sure we have regulations that work for industry, that work for producers, and also ensure that the regulations are adhered to.”
The MLA discussed a number of other topics with councillors, including updating the Municipal Government Act, solar power development in the province, river and flood management, committee work, and highway maintenance.
Reeve Bruce Beattie called on the MLAs to continue to consult with the municipal council on issues facing the region.
See next week's Mountain View Gazette for more on Nixon and Cooper's meeting with county council.
