Red Deer Advocate, October 31, 2013

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Red Deer 1913 — 2013 Create Celebrate Commemorate

REBELS’ LOSING STREAK NOW AT FIVE GAMES

HUNTER OR HUNTED? It’s hard to tell which character is which in The Counselor

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THE GREAT GROCERY GIVEAWAY IS BACK!

DETAILS INSIDE

Red Deer Advocate THURSDAY, OCT. 31, 2013

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Colleges WINN big BY HARLEY RICHARDS ADVOCATE BUSINESS EDITOR The creation of a $100-million program to promote western innovation is good news for Alberta entrepreneurs, as well as the Red Deer College Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing and the Olds College Centre for Innovation. The federal government announced last Friday

that it will provide small and medium-sized businesses with funding to commercialize products, processes and services. Specifically, the Western Innovation (WINN) initiative will help cover the cost of such things as product testing and technology demonstrations, equipment purchases and installation, regulatory approval, marketing and intellectual property protection. Much of this work falls right into the wheelhouses of the Red Deer College and Olds College centres for innovation — where staff and students regularly as-

Growth boards to oversee planning

sist individuals and organizations in bringing their ideas to market. “It’s going to help Red Deer College, and there are other spin-offs too,” said Eric Kokko, director of the Red Deer College centre. One of those spin-offs will be more applied learning opportunities for students. “There’s nothing better than for students to work on real projects.”

Please see INNOVATION on Page A2

SPIRITED DANCE

COULD TOSS DISSENTERS IN JAIL BY DEAN BENNETT THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Alison Redford defended Wednesday a new regional planning bill she says will help municipalities, but opposition leaders say the legislation will gut local authority and could be used to jail dissenting municipal elected leaders. “This will change the relationship between municipalities and the provincial government for the better because we have modern communities with strong leaders that want to build Alberta just like us,” Redford told the legislature, referring to Bill 28, the Modernizing Regional Governance Act. The proposed legislation would give Redford’s cabinet the authority to set up growth boards to address the shared needs of municipalities clustered close together. Cabinet would have the right to decide the geographic boundaries of the growth boards, who sits on them, who will run them, what the voting breakdown will be, and what their mandates will be. Any bylaw decisions made by the growth boards must be approved by the municipal affairs minister. The decisions of the growth boards would be binding, and no municipality would be allowed to pass laws or build anything that contravenes the board’s decisions. Elected officials who refuse to co-operate and provide paperwork asked for by the boards would be subject to a maximum $10,000 fine or one year in jail. Wildrose leader Danielle Smith called the bill a blindside attack on municipal councils just getting down to business after recent elections. “It strips local municipalities of power, and it has some of the most draconian provisions I’ve ever seen,” said Smith. “I don’t know what mayor or reeves they were consulting with, but I cannot imagine mayors and reeves and councils were saying that if they didn’t follow provincial law and they didn’t follow what the PC appointees on these councils wanted to do that they would be forced to either go to jail or pay huge fines.” NDP Leader Brian Mason agreed. “It’s to give control to the provincial government over the activities of municipalities when they choose to use it,” said Mason. “It’s an enormous infringement on the authority and the autonomy on municipal governments in this province.” Liberal Leader Raj Sherman said he is very concerned about the tone of the bill, calling it very heavy-handed. Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths said the legislation mirrors regulations already on the books governing regional planning in and around Edmonton.

Please see PLANNING on Page A2

WEATHER Clearing. High 8. Low -4.

FORECAST ON A2

INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . C3, C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6-B8

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Dancing the Macarena from the left, sisters Ava and Lauren Kuzel and their friend Alexis Hart were front and centre in front of the DJ Wednesday night as they danced at Mountview Elementary School. Getting a jump on the Halloween spirit, students, staff and many of the parents in attendance at the dance wore their costumes and flooded onto the dance floor for some fun times.

P3 model may result in school delays BY MYLES FISH ADVOCATE STAFF

EDUCATION

“we’re still going to have the schools done for 2016.” Two weeks ago, a large ‘Building Alberta’ sign de- The department is now reconsidering how it will senoting the spot where the provincial government has lect who will build the facilities. committed to build a new school in Blackfalds was While supportive of the original concept of the unveiled. P3 model as a means of improving efficiency and Now the scheduled opening date for that badly- cutting down on costs, Wolf Creek Public Schools suneeded school may be question. perintendent Larry Jacobs said the idea needs some Alberta Infrastructure contacttweaking. ed Wolf Creek Public Schools and “We’ve bundled them too big other school divisions in the prov‘THE FEEDBACK HAS and all of a sudden now we find ince recently to say that there may JUST BEEN THAT THERE’S out that companies can’t bid on be delays in the construction of 19 said Jacobs. A LOT OF WORK GOING those,” schools across the province. The He said by creating too big a projects were announced earlier group of projects, smaller compaON OUT IN ALBERTA this year and expected to open in are frozen out of the process AND THE CONTRACTORS nies 2016. and only the biggest builders on The potential delay is a result AREN’T SURE THEY CAN the continent can handle such a of only one consortium responding undertaking. COMMIT TO A PROJECT bigHe to the government’s request for suggested the bundle should proposals to construct the schools. MAYBE THAT BIG, be broken into groups of two to The government has bundled four schools so local companies school builds together under the BECAUSE EVERYBODY’S can bid. public-private partnership (P3) SUPER BUSY.’ The government has committed model, a process it says saves monto fund the construction of 50 new ey and gets builds done faster. — TRACY LARSEN schools over the next three years, It was hoping to choose three SPOKESPERSON, ALBERTA INFRASTRUCTURE plus 70 modernizations of existing proponents to submit a price for structures. the construction of all 19 schools Under the P3 format, industry is to design and this fall before selecting a winner in mid-2014, with build new schools in the province, financing at least building following shortly after. half the cost of construction before being paid out “The feedback has just been that there’s a lot of over 30 years. work going on out in Alberta and the contractors The province’s first P3 schools bundle included aren’t sure they can commit to a project maybe that the building of 18 schools, the second included 10, big, because everybody’s super busy,” said Alberta and the third, which featured three facilities for Red Infrastructure spokesperson Tracy Larsen said Tues- Deer and one for Penhold, included 12. day. Despite the warning about delays, Larsen said Please see SCHOOLS on Page A2

Boston Red Sox win the World Series David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox capped their remarkable turnaround by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1. Story on PAGE B6

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