Airdrie’s MLAs Angela Pitt and Peter Guthrie made a presentation to City Council Monday night.

Council says the objective was to build a better relationship with their provincial counterparts and also allow the public to see what issues they work with the province on.

The presentation started with a 20-minute speech from Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie which touched on several subjects, mostly on a national and provincial level. Guthrie took the time to condemn the federal government for a lack of support for Alberta and denounce the nationwide protests against the Coastal GasLink pipeline project which have halted rail traffic and led to thousands of temporary layoffs for rail workers.

In the last part of his speech, Guthrie touched on some of the Airdrie issues the MLAs have been in discussions about.

“Here in Airdrie, we have a number of pressing concerns that together with the Mayor and Council we have been working on. These include seniors care, policing and courthouse issues, transportation infrastructure – particularly 40th Avenue, schools and healthcare facilities,” said Guthrie. “In order to make progress with these items, we all need to work in a coordinated fashion.”

Mayor Peter Brown says the presentation was quite political, but that wasn’t unexpected.

“I think the first part started out a little bit as a bias from the government, which is what I asked for. I asked for them to provide what they’re doing in the province and then a look at our municipality specific to Airdrie and they did that,” the Mayor explained.

Brown said the MLAs did face some tough questions from Councillors on a number of topics. There were questions around funding for the 40th Avenue overpass, health care, courthouse issues, education, and concerns that have been raised by Community Links.

“I can’t speak to any promise on any specific project until that budget is tabled. I am very hopeful, I think the case for 40th Avenue is significant,” said Pitt. “I really do think the minister and his office understand what is happening here and how important that project is to the people of this city.”

One of the other issues that was brought up was the need for affordable housing. Airdrie Housing said the national targets for affordable housing are to have six percent of housing in a city be affordable housing. The city of Airdrie has about 0.3 per cent.

Councillor Ron Chapman said the city is in dire need of funding for affordable housing projects and asked if there would be any funding on the table for Airdrie.

“Throughout the province, we are hearing [the need for affordable housing], it certainly is a common theme. I’ve talked to the Mayor about it and have inquiries in,” said MLA Guthrie. “We are aware and we are working with the ministry on it.”

The local representatives said while they are advocating for funding for Airdrie, there is a fiscal reality that needs to be dealt with.

“The reality is we have a significant budget problem. That’s no secret. It wasn’t a secret during the election and it wasn’t a secret as we’ve seen the spending of the previous government over the last four years and it’s a shame that Airdrie’s needs have consistently been thrown by the wayside,” said Pitt. “But, having the budget crisis situation that we do have certainly has an impact on those decisions, but I am hopeful.”

To see the entire exchange click HERE. The MLA’s presentation and question and answer period takes place between 2:06:45-3:37:34

 

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