The COUNTRY BOOSTER, July 11, 2017 – Page 6
Conservative unity, riding boundaries
By Wes Taylor, MLA Battle River-Wainwright
A constituent called me last week to complain about the cost of living in Alberta. An honest person, they admitted that they had voted for the NDP government, but now regretted that decision. I asked what had motivated them to vote NDP. The reply was they thought the NDP would be the party most likely to reform the AHS. What they had not bargained for was the assault on Albertans ranging from ideological meddling in education and diminishing parental rights, the naked promotion of trade unionism, unwarranted and uniformed interference in agriculture and, an unjustifiable financial punishment for all, the carbon tax. It was the carbon tax my constituent had greatest issue with. Although a professional person with a relatively well-paying job, they were finding it hard to make ends meet, highlighting increases in their local taxes. Astute enough to understand the difference between the direct and indirect impacts of the carbon tax, they knew that these tax increases were not inspired by their council, but as an unavoidable reaction by their council to the NDP’s carbon tax. One aspect we did not discuss was the GST element of the carbon tax. Albertans should be aware that the federal government stands to gain $150 million in GST from AB and BC taxpayers, a tax on a tax. The flood of cash leaving Alberta will only rise in subsequent years, as the Notley and Trudeau governments work to raise Alberta’s carbon tax from $10/tonne to $50/tonne. As my constituent stated, none of this was part of the NDP’s platform during the election. They felt betrayed. Talking elections, recently Brian Jean and Jason Kenney announced the proposed formation of a United Conservative Party. I firmly believe that the Wildrose constitution and its policies are needed to keep Alberta strong. However, I consider that the minor compromises made in this unity agreement, are both reasonable and necessary. I hope my constituent appreciates that the chief motivation behind this proposal is to rescue Alberta from the very destructive and, frankly dishonest, behavior we are experiencing. I salute both men for putting province before self. It would be all too easy for either man to want to hold onto the leadership of what are credible parties in their own right. It is rare to see such selfless behavior. I hope everyone would agree that these are men of conviction who are putting Alberta and Albertans first. A quick word regarding the Interim Report by the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission. I am disappointed to see the changes being proposed to the Battle River-Wainwright riding. In my submission to the commission, I majored on the need to have ridings of a manageable geographical size. I believe it important that MLAs are able to engage directly with as many constituents as possible. The extending of the southern boundary to add Stettler, plus the inclusion of Tofield and New Sarepta, while removing the towns of Holden and Ryley, defies logic. The commission has obsessed with ensuring each riding has the ‘average’ population, defined as 47,698 (being the population of Alberta divided by 87 existing ridings). Ironically, my ‘new’ riding would be eight per cent above the provincial average at 50,607. This sort of “concrete thinking” mirrors that of the NDP government. Embracing a simplistic ‘one size fits all’ concept and imposing it, monolithically, onto groups with disregard for nuance or circumstances or consequences. This is precisely what my constituent is experiencing and clearly does not approve of. Neither do I. Change can’t come quickly enough, for either of us. You can contact Wes Taylor, MLA Battle River-Wainwright at his office 780-842-6177 or fax 780-842-3171.
Battle River Power standing strong By Lori Larsen
Battle River Power Coop (BRPC) held its annual general meeting on June 22 at the Norsemen Inn with 330 people in attendance including special guests, BRPC board of directors and staff and many BRPC members. The theme for the year was “Standing Strong.” Chairman’s report
Chairman of the board Dan Astner began the presentation of the chairman’s annual report by explaining the role of the board of directors. “Each of the directors are power members just like you. They are elected and tasked with governance in the best interest of your co-op. Their role is to serve and protect. “These individuals bring a wealth of personal professional experience to our board meetings.” Astner mentioned the other areas the BRPC board represents including solar committee, smart grid committee, Rural Utilities Commission Study, Alberta Utilities Commission application and urban/ rural annexation of REA members. Astner spoke specifically about the concern of the urban/rural annexation. “This issue is of considerable concern because it erodes not only BRPC’s membership base, but is applicable to all Alberta REAs. “We believe there is no reason to force people to move from being an REA member to merely another big utility customer number until an actual physical change of assets occurs.” In conclusion, Astner acknowledged the commitment of the BRPC staff and commended the field personnel for restoring power quickly during the year’s storms. “Standing Strong is more than this year’s AGM theme, it is the philosophy by which we govern and operate your Battle River Power Coop.” GM report
General manager Colleen Musselman indicated that Standing Strong is reflected in both the BRPC history and future. In describing Standing Strong, Musselman answered two major questions. Why does the co-op need to provide advocacy (representing members), how and why are they are doing that, and how does serving and protecting the co-op impact the members? Musselman f irst explained the difference between a co-op and a forprofit organization. “A co-op is defined by three basic interests,” she said.”Ownership,control and the beneficiary. The member remains the centre of the business, not maxi-
mizing profit. We are balancing the need of profitability with members’ needs and community needs. Cooperatives still need to operate a safe, reliable and cost effective business. “You, as the member, are the customer and the shareholder. There is no advantage for us to take a profit from you the customer and give it back to you the shareholder. We focus on a cost efficiency operation.” Musselman described the impact BRCP has on the communities it serves. “We employ 50 people from within your community, so they reinvest in your community and care about your community. “We have given $48,000 in scholarships to members’ children to grow education.” This year’s recipients of the scholarships were Tristan Eidick (Wetaskiwin), Megan Russnak (Viking), Jaret Marshall (Bruderheim), Marshall Hoy (Fort Saskatchewan) and Timothy Messick (Ohaton). “Our field staff provides free public safety presentations to schools, EMCs and fire departments across 13 counties.” Musselman indicated, through coordination with these counties, BRPC was currently able to save $13.43 million. The board of BRPC made a policy to buy within the communities they serve first and, if the product or service was not available within the community, then it was purchased in the province. “Last year within our community, we spent $6.18 million and provincially, an additional $14.3 million. Over the last 12 years, we have reinvested over $53.11 million back to into your community and $179 million more into the province” In addition, Musselman stated, “Again this year, while operating as a cooperative, we were able to leave $5.9 million in members’ hands, savings that would not be realized if they were not members of Battle River Power Coop.
In further describing savings, Musselman indicated from 2007 to 2016, the average member saved $6,864 which equates to $58.2 million. Results from the survey regarding reliability standards and power restoration showed that BRPC scored 100 per cent on reliability standards. The results of the Illumina Research comparison in the following areas indicated: ease for customers to reach: 96 per cent, helpful employees: 97 per cent, courteous employees: 99 per cent, satisfactory service: 96 per cent, reliable electricity: 94 per cent (down from 97 in 2014), good reputation in community: 89 per cent, members support local/provincial investment: 89 per cent. In speaking about the decrease in the reliability number, Musselman stated the inclement weather had an overall impact on the number of people with outages, with a comparison of 7,888 from the previous year compared to last year of 11,944, a 34 per cent increase over the year before. Response performance monitoring, from when the lineman gets the call to restoration of power, for 2012 to 2016, averages were: 1.45, 1.39, 1.77, 1.48 hours, with consideration given to the distance between customers. “Our goal is to ensure that all BRPC members receive the same timely response, even those at the end of an integrated section of line that may not be owned by BRPC.” Financial report
Michelle Miller of MNP, LLP presented the financial statement for BRPC REA year ending March 31. The total revenue was $21,353,652, cost of sales was $13,663,402, expenses $5,403,620, amortization $1,434,569, other $65,359, resulting in a net of $917,420. Board members
BRPC welcomed new board member Neil Fenske replacing retiring member Francis Prefontaine.
Lori Larsen, Camrose Booster Battle River Power Coop scholarship recipients pictured left to right: BRCP board member Terry Pederson, Megan Russnak (Viking), Tristan Eidick (Wetaskiwin), Marshall Hoy (Fort Saskatchewan and Jaret Marshall (Bruderheim). Missing from photo is Timothy Messick (Ohaton).