Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith made a stop in Chestermere Aug. 3 as she continued her provincial tour.
The informal round-table discussion, at the Whitecappers Room in the arena, brought out residents of the community to speak about many issues, including assisted living for the elderly. Currently, Chestermere has no assisted living facility and residents must move out of the lake town for such care.
“What Chestermere is experiencing with their huge growth in the last decade is they are trying to put in services to sustain the population, specifically the aging population,” said Smith. “What I got out of my visit with Chestermere is they take a ‘can do’ approach and don’t wait around for someone to do it for them.”
Smith said Wildrose’s plan for long-term care involves an objective assessment of the current infrastructure backlog and then taking care of it one jurisdiction at a time.
The Calgary native has heard many similar concerns from town councils and municipalities during her tour that started on July 20 in Red Deer.
“I hear an awful lot about the amount of revenues going into the provincial coffers and how little of it actually trickles down to the communities that are impacted by it,” she said. “They’ve got a system in Alberta where municipalities have to go begging cap in hand to garner some grant dollars.”
Smith talked openly to about 30 residents for more than one hour about any concerns they had and that was the reason Ruth Wright attended.
“I wanted to hear what Danielle had to say,” said Wright, president of the Chestermere Public Library Foundation. “I want to know why they think they can be better leadership than the PCs.”
Wright’s concerns primarily centred on education, assisted living for seniors and transportation to-and-from such facilities.
“I think education is more than just memorizing and regurgitating facts,” said Wright.
For Wright, an admitted “fence sitter,” whether Wildrose wins the next provincial election or not, it will still improve the current political landscape of Alberta.
“Whether they’re in opposition or leadership, they will help put checks and balances in place that our province has been lacking for some time,” she said.
Resident Wendy Peters attended the meeting and said it was nice to see the tour come through Chestermere.
“I think it’s a really good idea. It gives you a feeling of who that person is that you may or may not want to vote for,” said Peters. “It gives you an idea of how dedicated they are to advancing your issues.”
Smith’s 22-day tour will wrap up in Edmonton, Aug. 10.
