Wheatland County meets with Shields

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

Member of Parliament Martin Shields, for the Bow River constituency, met with Wheatland County councillors on Sept. 6, to share municipal and federal information on issues concerning local residents.
Shields had been taking the summer to visit communities and participate in various events, prior to heading back to Ottawa for the fall session that commences Sept. 19.
“It’s an opportunity to get out there and see a lot of communities,” said Shields, about his summer schedule.
He said he was hearing concerns about the oil and gas industry slowdown and carbon credit programs, agriculture and trade agreements.
“When I talk to those in the oil and gas sector, they have previously lived through the yo-yo effect,” said Shields. “But when they have to let people go, it makes for a brutal time.”
He said producers are hoping for a rebound to at least $60 per barrel.
Shields said that the carbon credit program is applying more pressure on those businesses, and said the current government leans to issues championing green and environmentally friendly policies.
“The first thing out of their mouth is climate change and carbon credits,” said Shields.
He said he has supported a drive in committee work, to get the government to look at the economic impacts these policies have on business and employment.
He said the pipeline development issue continues to come up and there is a process that has to be worked through, in order for any of the pipelines to be given the go ahead. In a response to what role lobbyists play in getting a pipeline approved, he said there is a lot of pressure from these groups, both for and against. Some of the lobbyists are paid and rumoured to have funding from foreign sources.
He said there was money available for new energy and green energy development; however, Coun. Ben Armstrong commented it targets smaller projects and not large corporate or municipal initiatives.
Leading from climate change issues, Coun. Brenda Knight shared information from her tour of the St. Mary and Old Man River basin. A 1919 trans-boundary water agreement with the U.S. is currently being reviewed. With increasing demands on water resources, this agreement will have future impact on water supply for southern Alberta farmers. Shields commended council for their initiatives with the regional water partnership.
He said trade markets were under a great deal of pressure. Beef was improving; however, he wondered why countries were still responding to product quality fears.
“We have the best cattle and the safest food standards in the world,” said Shields.
He said trade talks with China are going slower than anticipated and negotiations are challenging. New markets have opened with Korea. Confusion in Europe with the Brexit decisions and ongoing conflicts have also had their impact on trade.
When asked about response to the current U.S. presidential election, Shields said both sides of the government disapprove of the language and isolationist stance presented during the campaigns.
“We hope it goes away after the election,” said Shields. “Neither side wants to touch that. We are waiting to see what happens.”
Shields told council he welcomes any documentation from the municipality that concerns federal matters, saying he could present it to the ministers personally.
“That’s the one advantage of being in the House, they can’t get away from you,” said Shields.
On leaving, Shields commended people who serve at the municipal level.
“Municipal people make the decisions that are closest to the people,” said Shields. “I remember it well. Being at a different level, I see what municipal people do and appreciate it.”
He said municipal councils can address concerns in a matter of weeks, whereas he was learning to appreciate that sometimes to change things at a federal level takes a change of governance.