For the first time since the April 16 provincial election, officials with the Rural Municipalities of Alberta Association (RMA) have met with the new minister of Municipal Affairs.
RMA president and Mountain View County councillor Al Kemmere and other members of the RMA met with Minister Kaycee Madu in Edmonton on May 8.
Municipal Affairs is the provincial department that oversees rural and urban municipalities in the province, including Mountain View County.
The meeting included a discussion on oil and gas resource development in rural Alberta, said Kemmere.
“Part of our discussion was around the plight of shallow gas companies and that’s about as far as I can go on it,” Kemmere said following the one-hour closed door meeting at the legislature.
“We wanted to share with him the role oil and gas companies play both as employers and as taxpayers in our municipalities.
“We are going to be working with the province and having further discussions. That’s about all I can say at this point about that.”
Kemmere said future meetings are being planned with Municipal Affairs officials, as well as officials from other ministries.
RMA officials have not yet met with Premier Jason Kenney.
“The premier has had conversations with all the ministries,” he said. “We are focusing on key ministries right now, knowing that we will meet with the premier eventually. It’s a matter of not waiting for that single meeting, but meeting with government on many angles.”
The RMA represents 69 rural municipalities, including Mountain View and Red Deer counties.
Meanwhile, Mountain View County council will be forwarding one-page summaries to the various provincial ministries outlining issues and concerns impacting the municipality.
Councillors are expected to review those summaries at an upcoming council meeting.
