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Red Deer Advocate SATURDAY, NOV. 28, 2015
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Consultations key: labour minister NDP GOVERNMENT LISTENING TO FARMERS’ CONCERNS, SAYS SIGURDSON BY MARY-ANN BARR ADVOCATE STAFF The NDP government minister responsible for moving controversial farm safety legislation forward said there will be a window of time for compliance. “This is really about safety and it’s not about destroying the family farm,” Lori Sigurdson, Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour told the Advocate on Friday morning. Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, an omnibus bill involving four different pieces of legislation, has drawn considerable opposition from those involved in farming directly or otherwise. Sigurdson said she is listening, consultations are key and she knows that the farming and ranching sector is unique and important. However while the number of town halls have
been increased and run until Dec. 14, the last day of the fall sitting of the legislature is Dec. 3. This could mean that Bill 6 will be passed before consultation has finished. The new legislation, if passed, will bring farms and ranches under the Occupational Health and Safety and Workers Compensation Acts effective Jan. 1. Sigurdson said there have been myths circulating about what the new legislation is acLORI SIGURDSON tually about. “That’s why it’s so important for us to actually be listening … as a firm believer in democracy and certainly
BILL C6 a person who’s participated in many protests myself, I think it’s so important for people to stand up for what they believe in and … I’m happy to meet with the farmers and hear about their concerns and assure them that absolutely we’re listening as a government. “We very much know that the unique and essential farming way of life, we want to preserve that. We want to work with family farms, however we want to make sure that they are safe. “We’re creating more of a culture about safety on the farm. And that doesn’t mean that farmers aren’t concern about that. I know they are. I’m a mom of three kids myself and I know that families care about their kids working on the farm already. But there’s things that we can do industry wide and specifically with family farms.”
Please see BILL C6 on Page A2
In search of an identity FILMMAKER RUEBEN TSCHETTER GAINED A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HIMSELF BY TELLING CENTRAL ALBERTANS’ STORIES BY LANA MICHELIN ADVOCATE STAFF From Springbrook’s firefighting airplanes to Sylvan Lake’s row of veterans’ flags, Central Alberta has many stories to tell. Filmmaker Rueben Tschetter is capturing more than a dozen local narratives in short documentaries that will start airing at the end of January on TELUS Optik TV-on demand and Shaw TV channel. It happens that Tschetter’s own life story is as interesting as any of them. Although his past won’t be filmed for TV, it explains why he has an outsider’s eye for what makes Central Alberta an interesting and unique place to live. For Tschetter grew up on the Cluny Hutterite Colony, southeast of Calgary. While he described life in his colony as being halfway between restrictive and progressive, Tschetter explained, “I was a rebellious kid who didn’t like authority.” He left at age 18, hoping to join the army. Since he needed to get a high school diploma to get into the Canadian Forces and, as with most Hutterite boys, his schooling was stopped at age 15, he moved into a Calgary rooming house and buckled down to do three years of upgrading. “I walked 26 blocks to school every day, but it was cheap rent,” he recalled. The government gave him just enough money to cover his housing costs “and have a little leftover for food.” While he wishes he’d had more support during his school years, Tschetter, who’s still in touch with Hutterite relations, appreciated feeling in charge of his own destiny. He soon volunteered as a reservist, and decided “I didn’t like it …
Please see TSCHETTER on Page A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Central Alberta filmmaker Rueben Tschetter.
WEATHER Sunny. High 2. Low-15.
FORECAST ON A2
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Environment report: Room to improve Red Deer took some environmental strides forward and a few steps back last year, according to a new report. Story on PAGE C2
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