Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Vol. 45, No. 7
Happy Family Day
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MLA hosts round table to address shortage of large animal veterinarians Moush John Staff Reporter
The Bill has been passed, but the conversation has to continue, according to MLA Jackie Lovely, who hosted a virtual roundtable discussion on Thursday, Feb. 10, to create more awareness about the acute shortage of large animal veterinarians in the rural areas. Also present were students from the University of Calgary, local veterinarians, and elected officials from Camrose constituency, notably Beaver County Reeve Kevin Smook and Camrose County Reeve Cindy Trautman. “There is an alarming shortage of large animal veterinarians, which is putting a huge strain on those in the profession, the producers, and the animals they care about,” Lovely said in her opening remarks. “There are approximately 864 vacant professional veterinary positions in Alberta with the majority of the shortage in rural Alberta; the vacancy rate for veterinarians is around 17 per cent, which is shockingly high when compared to the provincial vacancy rate of 2.6 per cent. “The detrimental effect this has on existing vets is leading to increased cases of burnout.” Veterinarians from the constituency clarified some questions the students had about entering rural practice. Students expressed the challenge finding summer employment and shared their stress about the high volume of student debt they incur while studying; their need for mentorship; concern about a lack of affordable housing in rural Alberta; and a lack of funding. Local officials offered encouragement and shared their desire to have students move to rural areas and focus on the amenities, proximity to the airport, and the positive quality of family life Camrose constituency has to offer. Lovely has been working with the Minister of Labour and Immigration, the new Dean at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association to move toward positive solutions for Alberta. “Similar to the situation regarding health care, rural Alberta faces challenges attracting new veterinarians,” Smook later said in an interview. “It was interesting to hear from veterinary university students as to how
they feel about the future. Several long-time veterinarians will be retiring across the province and we need to ensure there are replacements ready to take over.” Lovely said that the session allowed her to make introductions of the University of Calgary veterinary students to the local veterinary clinics and elected officials. According to her, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association (ABVMA) has some regulations in place that must be adhered to, for instance, no registered veterinarian or permit holder can employ a student without the consent of the registrar. The registrar may consent to the employment of a student if the registrar is satisfied that the student will be directly supervised by an unrestricted veterinarian. “A number of rural communities find funding to
attract doctors to practice in their community,” Lovely explained. “I believe that this same approach may need to be considered for veterinarians. I will continue to do my part to ensure a higher volume of students receive training as veterinarians and that the cost becomes more reasonable.” There is a summer online program that the University of Calgary offers for high school students who may be interested in learning a bit more and seeing if veterinary medicine is what they want to pursue. “As more information becomes available, I will share it with the community,” Lovely added. “The best solution is a home-grown student base who would like to become veterinarians and practice in the community they grew up in and have the support of family and friends while on their journey.”
Page 8 - The Weekly Review, Wednesday, February 16, 2022
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County declares February 22 Canada’s Agriculture Day Patricia Harcourt Beaver County Council has declared February 22 as Canada’s Agriculture Day in Beaver County, which will be in effect for five years and coincide with National Canada’s Agriculture Day. “Canada’s Agriculture Day is a time to showcase all the amazing things happening in the industry and help consumers see the connection to where their food comes from and the people who produce it,” stated the county’s agriculture field person Aimee Boese, as her reasons for recommending the county adopt the declaration. Councillor Lionel Williams (Division 2) asked if the county had any activities going for that day in the schools, which are a focal point for education about agriculture. “We are working to see what options there
are,” said Boese, who noted that COVID-19 “makes it less accessible.” However, the county does support the Farm Safety Centre that already goes into the schools, she said, adding the schools should contact the county if they would like additional information. “Due to it being the first year, we are limited in what we can do,” she said, so the county will look for more to do going forward in the future. Deputy Reeve Gene Hrabec (Division 3) wanted to partner with FCSS or a food bank drive, “because Canadian food is a big part of it.” Reeve Kevin Smook (Division 2) noted, however, that ‘there’s not a lot of time this year. We can build on it for next year.” His motion to proclaim February 22 Canada’s Agricultural Day in Beaver County passed unanimously. Information with the proclamation outlined that “there are a number of ways for people to
get involved and raise a fork to the food we love and the people who produce it.” Several suggestions for this inaugural year include: • Post a photo, make a video, or write a blog. Share what you’re doing on social media using the hashtag #CdnAg Day. • Encourage your friends to show off their culinary talents using all Canadian ingredients. • Teach someone something new about agriculture. Share your knowledge and story with others. These ideas are only suggestions, and anyone can create their own ways to share a passion for agriculture and inspire others to join the conversation. It’s all about celebrating Canadian agriculture and food in engaging, fun and respectful ways. For more information, visit AgDay.ca
Peace officer given authority to investigate water complaints Patricia Harcourt County Council has granted its senior Community Peace Officer (CPO) the authority to investigate water complaints on behalf of Alberta Environment. CPO Rick Ells received the permission at county council’s February 2 regular meeting. Ells explained that he was there “solely to investigate, not to enforce,” when going out to a place where a complaint to Alberta Environment has been received. He indicated there are 28 such complaints that emanated from people in the county to the provincial department. Interim CAO Rick McDonald said Ells “would need authority from council to do an investigation for Alberta Environment,” but had no issue with Ells doing that. At the previous meeting on January 18, CPO Ells presented information to council regarding Beaver County’s authority in dealing with water management. Alberta Environment initiated a pilot program in 2021 to enable the department to contact trained persons in some municipalities to complete an investigation on a water management complaint on their behalf.
CPO Ells had completed a one-day training session and given the written authority to investigate a water complaint when requested by Alberta Environment. “The authority granted was only to investigate a complaint that was initiated through Alberta Environment, not a public complaint to Beaver County,” stated Ells. “All water management complaints from the public still need to be reported to Alberta Environment,” he explained. “Alberta Environment tracks all the complaints and, if requested by them, the CPO will complete an initial investigation and forward the finding to them. “The authority is only to investigate a complaint and has no enforcement authority.” Ells said. To date, the CPO has been asked to investigate one water complaint north of Holden. Since then, Alberta Environment “has decided to conduct a further in-depth investigation,” he said, on that particular site. Councillor Lionel Williams (Division 2) asked if this fell within Ells’ “comfort zone,” and if it was a duty “dumped on him” or did he consider it an “opportunity.” Ells said that he could do the investigations. “I still have zero power to enforce anything,” he
said. Alberta Environment is short staffed with “a lot of complaints” to deal with (and) if I can help to speed up the process, that’s a good thing.” He also indicated that, on top of this training last year, he has “a lot of background and training so I can take care of it.” His duties would consist of talking to the landowners and taking photos. Deputy Reeve Gene Hrabec (Division 3) said the county has a Drainage Bylaw where Ells “has full authority to investigate and impose penalties.” He added: “This is a downloading thing in my opinion.” Beaver County passed a Surface Drainage Bylaw last September. Ells said it could help by “speeding up some of the complaints” in Beaver County. But Hrabec said: “We have a bylaw in place we can’t do nothing with…It’s not doing us any service.” Ells replied he would be doing these investigations “for the ratepayer…not for myself.” “It’s not Alberta Environment’s fault they are way behind in dealing with issues,” said Ells, adding: “We should assist the ratepayer in getting something dealt with sooner rather than later.” A motion by Councillor Dale Pederson to approve CPO Ells to investigate water complaints at Alberta Environment’s request was carried.
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