Mountain View County (MVC) council has reviewed and updated a series of provincial ministry summaries calling for action by the UCP government.
The move came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
The summaries outline issues and topics of interest to MVC.
They were earlier sent to the NDP government and have now been updated for presentation to the new UCP government.
Summaries are being sent to Transportation, Agriculture, Economic Development, Environment and Parks, Health, Justice and Solicitor General, Municipal Affairs, and Service Alberta.
The summary going to Agriculture calls on the department to develop an agricultural plastics recycling policy for the “safe handling and disposal of such plastics to reduce potential harm to the environment and people.
“Agricultural plastics such as grain bags, twine, silage plastics, bale wrap and netting are essential on-farm tools. While end of life management can be challenging for ag plastics, limited recycling markets are available for some of these materials.
“Growth and change in the agriculture industry has led to greater use of ag plastics. There is a lack of Canadian or Alberta-wide options for environmentally safe end of life management of all ag plastics.”
The summary going to Economic Development calls on the department to develop a strategy to work effectively and support and communicate with established economic development departments across the province.
“With more and more services accessible mainly, or only, through cellular connection, ensuring that remote rural communities and areas have consistent and reliable coverage has become essential. MVC residents in remote or underserved portions of the municipality rely heavily on these services and deserve equal access to those in urban or well-serviced areas.”
The summary going to Environment and Parks calls on the department to, among other things, address flood concerns.
“MVC requests the department develop and implement, through cross-ministry communication with Municipal Affairs, policies and programs that deal directly with the impact on the affected communities from the updated floodway studies and the floodway development regulations, understanding that municipalities do not have the resources or authority to undertake this work on the province’s behalf.
“In the interim, it is also requested that the department undertake an engagement plan with residents and other stakeholders in the study’s affected areas to clearly communicate what the purchase of the study is, and what the potential ramifications could be once the study is completed.”
The summary going to Health calls on the department to, among other things, “review the current health funding models and arrive at a single consistent funding approach for all health regions in the province.
“As a municipality that is split by the zone boundary, our hope is for our residents, and those who receive health services within our region, are able to access consistent levels of care regardless of what health zone they are receiving service in.
“Further, as a municipality that provides enhanced health-care funding through a municipal grant program and serves as a requisitioned member of Mountain View Seniors' Housing, the difficulty caused by having to navigate and at times manage multiple health funding models is unsustainable.”
The summary going to Justice and Solicitor General calls on the department to, in part, provide information to municipalities and other organizations on what landowner legal rights are regarding protection of property.
“In MVC and other rural municipalities, programs and initiatives have been undertaken to provide information and alternatives pertaining to landowner rights to protect their property and the tools that can be used to accomplish this goal.
“One hope is to have programs in place or information to landowners in areas where RCMP response cannot be delivered in a timely manner.”
The summary going to Municipal Affairs calls on the department to, in part, “make a firm commitment on timeline of delivery of the floodway regulations which has been promised since 2013.”
The summary going to Service Alberta calls on the department to, in part, “review current standards for cellular service and consult with the CRTC to ensure minimum standards are adequate and are being adhered to” and to “advocate with the federal government and the CRTC that reliable and effective rural broadband internet will have a net positive effect on the economic growth and diversification of remote or underserved rural areas.”
Council also accepted a new summary to be sent to Transportation regarding a high load corridor.
It calls on the department to consider “using Twp. Rd. 292 to connect Highway 791 and Highway 22 for the high load corridor proposed rather than the existing route outlined in the 2018 proposal.”
That proposal calls for a high load corridor to connect Highway 791 to Highway 22 through MVC. The east-west connection was proposed to be via Highway 581 and Highway 580 using Rge. Rd. 13 to connect the two provincial routes.
The summaries will also be sent to area MLAs.
