Happy New Year

By Leela Sharon Aheer Chestermere-Strathmore MLA

Hello Strathmore! Happy New Year, Happy Lohri, Pongal, Sankranti, Maha Shivratri and Happy Lunar New Year, Year of the Metal Rat. We honour these joyous occasions in our communities and hope and pray for everyone’s continued blessings and prosperity as we head into a new year. I am so honoured to have been invited to so many wonderful celebrations and festivals in various communities across Alberta, to have tried some amazing food, and to experience first hand the colour, the festivities and the taste of the many cultures that are the beautiful tapestry of Alberta.
Chestermere-Strathmore is home to a wide variety of agriculture and agribusiness. We even have a shrimp farm. Are you involved in agriculture as a producer, agribusiness, student, 4-H member, academic or home gardener? The government has launched farmer led research engagement sessions. We want to hear from stakeholders about your priorities for agricultural research. This could be anything from, for example, pure research on the lifecycle of clubroot, initiatives to develop plants that are better adapted to our climate, to ideas on private sector partnerships to advance technology, to complete “blue-sky” ideas. Agriculture is a huge and growing part of our economy and we want to build on our many strengths. Please join me and representatives from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry on Jan. 24, 2-4 p.m. at the Strathmore Civic Centre. For further information check out the ad in this week’s Times.
You have certainly heard of the fair deal panel that is touring the province to get your input on a better deal for Alberta within Canada. Please watch for an upcoming announcement next week on my fair deal town hall, coming soon.
Alberta government has declared Red Tape Reduction Awareness Week. It has been amazing to see how many submissions have come from all of you to our website at CutRedTape.Alberta.ca. We have had over 4,500 submissions, we have held town halls, and we are so grateful for your help in identifying how we can cut red tape. We have some great momentum, and our goal is to cut red tape by one-third, and in doing so help in getting our folks back to work. We need to inspire our job creators, innovators and all Albertans, and reducing the regulatory burden is one of the ways to create a fast-flowing economy. We look forward to continued discussions and reducing the red tape burden on our businesses, job creators and every Albertan together.
The province launched its Support Our Troops program in 2014 and Albertans have responded strongly – purchasing nearly 45,000 licence plates since then. This public support has resulted in almost $2.5 million raised for Support Our Troops. The Canadian Armed Forces official charitable cause is operated by Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. Funds raised from the Support Our Troops specialty licence plate program help current and former members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families in Alberta through organizations that provide support for children’s programs, scholarships, family assistance, veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and other initiatives.
As always, we love to hear from you.
(Leela Sharon Aheer is the MLA Elect for Chestermere-Strathmore, Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism)