The Oyen Echo - January 10, 2024 by yourwestcentral

OPINION:

BY JOAN JANZEN

This was a funny post I discovered on social media. It read: To the lady who flipped me off when I honked at you, your phone probably isn’t on top of your car anymore.

Although many Canadians express warnings to the government in an effort to help prevent further losses, their endeavours are often ignored, much like the lady who forgot her phone on top of her car. One of those warnings expressed is the belief that proposed immigration targets will have a negative impact on housing costs.

A bank executive and chief economist expressed a caution at the National Bank of Canada, whose August memo pointed out the Liberals’ high immigration levels are creating a “record imbalance” between housing supply and demand.

Nevertheless, the Minister of Immigration insists the targets will be maintained or even raised, not cut. Meanwhile, numerous media reports have been “honking” out warning messages.

Several years ago, in July 2020, a CBC article by Catherine Tunney reported that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) didn’t know the whereabouts of 34,000 foreign nationals slated for removal. The article claimed CBSA was unaware of the whereabouts of twothirds of the 50,000 enforceable cases in the agency’s inventory.

Even though the situation has clearly gotten out of hand, three years later, there is evidence that not much has improved. An August 2023 CIBC Capital Markets report estimated that Canada is undercounting the number of non-permanent residents living in the country by nearly one million.

In spite of all the honking and warnings being issued, a Global News article from August 2023 reported the Immi-

A look at homelessness and the working poor

gration Minister claiming Canada absolutely can’t build more houses without more immigrants.

Andrew Lawton interviewed Cosmin Georgia, host of the Daily Brief, who noted immigrants are moving to high-density areas, which brings a host of problems, including increases in the cost of housing and rent. “Yet we know there’s not enough houses being built,” he said.

Stats Canada showed that the most popular jobs for immigrants are service, healthcare and the fast food industry.

“They aren’t coming here to build infrastructure,” Georgia reasoned. Stats Canada has also released data showing a severe labour shortage in the construction sector.

“Immigrants that came here before them (recent immigrants) are still looking for homes as well, and there’s nothing left for them,” Lawton said. “Immigrants now have to get full-time jobs and are in a position they didn’t expect to be in. As a country we should pride ourselves on providing a positive experience when they come to Canada. So making it worse is simply not the solution.”

So what is the solution? The situation has become so dire that an article by Quinn Patrick reported a Nova Scotia minister calling for residents to rent out extra rooms to combat the housing crisis. Another article by Sue-Ann Levy reported the Mayor of Toronto asking residents to house asylum seekers.

Not only does the housing shortage affect asylum seekers, it also has a negative impact on Canadian citizens. Since housing costs have doubled, it can take as much as 25 years to save up for a down payment. Consequently, it’s not surprising that criminals are becoming more brazen, like the recent incident in a small town in Saskatchewan where thieves stole a payloader and rammed

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it into a bank, using it to haul out the ATM machine.

According to a 2019 report to Parliament by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, homelessness likely affects 3,000 to 5,000 of Canada’s nearly 650,000 veterans. The report noted the issue is rooted in numerous concerns, including affordable housing shortages.

On her online show, Canadian Faytene Grasseschi reported on a growing problem in Canada - the working poor. The majority of those who are struggling with homelessness are people who have jobs but can’t find a place to stay that’s within their budget.

“You look at the ocean of need across Canada, and we all wonder what we can do,” Faytene observed. While the report by the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs emphasized the importance of community organizations stepping in to lend assistance, Faytene discovered two guys who decided to get involved, stepping forward to provide help for the homeless.

The two men named Stephen and Matt joined forces, raised some money, and erected a temporary emergency village outside the city hall in Halifax. They set up ice fishing tents in an effort to save lives during the cold winter months.

Stephen shared one story about meeting a construction worker in New Brunswick who heard about the new encampment. He asked Stephen if they

had a place for him since he had been sleeping on the construction site. Unable to find affordable housing, he had contemplated walking off the edge of the building and committing suicide because he couldn’t handle it anymore. He was extremely grateful to be offered a warm place to stay and is just one of many of the working poor in Canada.

However, a recent headline gave us a glimpse into the future. The headline from an article by Lindsay Shepherd read, “Canada to import 1 million new permanent residents in 2025-2026”. One can’t help but wonder if more people coming to Canada means more votes for the government.

But Marc Miller, the Immigration Minister, did offer a faint glimmer of hope when unveiling an action plan. He said Canada’s immigration planning will now take into account housing, health care and infrastructure. Hopefully, those words translate into tangible action.

As we begin a new year, it’s important that we recognize the need to voice both our concerns and suggested solutions to our governing leaders, who are our “public servants.” As Andrew Lawton’s guest pointed out, “If you have more families coming than you have houses being built, you have a housing crisis.” Our public servants need to hear our simple yet logical evaluation of the situation in order to avoid a crisis.

HART Freelance Photographer GWEN SNELL Freelance Journalist

Annetta Pearl Bishop, more commonly known as Nettie, was born September 8th, 1934, to Lillian and Floyd Bishop. Nettie was raised with her four sisters Ileen, Hazel, Faye and Doreen in Excel. Growing up, Nettie helped her parents run the Excel store, and later worked in the old Oyen hospital. Not long after, Nettie met the love of her life and began a family of her own.

In February of 1953, Nettie met Esler Logan at a dance in Oyen and they were married on May 28th, 1954. In May of this year Nettie and Esler celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary. Their marriage blessed them with 7 children, 6 boys and 1 girl, all of which were raised on the family farm in Cappon. As more and more boys came along, Nettie became increasingly adept at not putting up with any BS. All the children learned very quickly not to start a fight if mom was around.

Nettie Logan 1934—2023

town, Nettie always had fresh produce and a beautiful flower bed.

husband Esler in heaven, as he passed away in September of this year.

Nettie was an excellent cook, but she was also always in charge of making sure dessert was ready for Esler. Although she had some adventurous recipes, her most well-known meals included baked mac & cheese, scalloped potatoes, and especially her array of pies. Nettie’s personal favourite was simply a good bowl of ice cream. Even after she and Esler retired and moved to Oyen in 2000, there was always a warm meal at Nettie’s house for her children and grandchildren. Nettie was also known for her green thumb. On the farm she had a huge garden, and although she had to downsize when she moved to

Nettie loved playing cards, and she took them very seriously. You could always catch Nettie looking at her opponent’s cards with her wandering eyes, but she would never admit to it. She often played Smear at the curling rink, on Tuesday nights. Growing up she made sure all her kids knew how to play by her rules. She was also an avid Bingo player. Nettie made the trek to Cereal for Bingo on Monday nights and played whenever it was held in Oyen. Nettie obtained quite the collection of Tupperware, and stuffed animals from her winnings. Another hobby of Nettie’s was knitting. Her granddaughters have a collection of knitted doll clothes and blankets that they cherish to this day. Nettie also loved listening to music. She always had the radio on in the kitchen, and in her later years she particularly enjoyed the live music at Oyen’s long-term care facility.

Nettie’s free time was spent following the children, and then grandchildren and great grandchildren. She attended countless hockey, baseball, and curling games and the annual dance festivals to support those she loved.

Nettie leaves to mourn; her sister Doreen Smith, her brother-in-law Miles (Vallery) Logan, children; Stan (Gert), Joan (Neil) Jorgenson, Bruce, Rod, Cal (Tracey), Barry (Erin), Jerry (Marcy), 17 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, as well as numerous extended family members. Nettie joins her loving

A Year-End Message for 2023

BY DAMIEN KUREK BattleRiver-Crowfoot MP

As we reflect on the challenges and triumphs of 2023, I am reminded of the resilience and unity of Canadians in the face of adversity. While political debates and controversies shaped the year, they also reflected the democratic values that underpin Canadian society. A freedom that we enjoy and must do everything we can protect within our borders and beyond.

Damien Kurek

This year has been outlined by many significant, history-making events: two major conflicts in different parts of the world, we coronated a new King, war against two of our allies overseas, another election in Alberta, and a divided country under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Not to mention some instances in Parliament, including the first ever time a Speaker of the House of Commons (Anthony Rota) resigned, followed by calls for the next speaker, Greg Fergus, to resign less than two months following his election because of a trend of overtly partisan activity.

Throughout it all, major issues have been top-ofmind for Conservatives. To name a few: the impacts of the carbon tax, the increased cost of living, firearms rights which are under attack, housing prices that have doubled, NHPs, and the continued work to bring accountability to Ottawa.

Though the NDP-Liberal coalition continued to block Conservative attempts to bring common sense back to our nation, we did have a number of accomplishments throughout the year.

A few examples include:

• Introducing the Build Homes, Not Bureaucracy Act to bring home more affordable housing in Canada,

• Passed Common-Sense Conservative Bill C-280, which will protect Canadian produce farmers,

• Passed Common-Sense Conservative Bill C-294, which will support the rights of consumers and

2024 will no doubt have its challenges, but I remain hopeful about the future of our region, our province, and our country

small businesses,

• Forcing votes to pressure the Government into axing the tax to lower prices for all Canadians,

• Passed Common-Sense Conservative Bill C-318, which will deliver EI parity for adoptive and intended parents, and,

• Led the efforts to implement the three-digit suicide prevention hotline, 9-8-8, to become active starting November 30th of this year. Help should only be three digits away.

• Many instances where, in Parliament and Committees, Conservatives were able to ensure Canadians’ voices were heard.

After almost a year and a half of the Conservative Party of Canada under Pierre Poilievre, we are in a better position than ever to hold the Government to account and win the next election. I am looking forward to continuing my work in the House of Commons come the resumption of the 44th Parliament at the end of January.

I will leave you with this; 2024 will no doubt have its challenges, but I remain hopeful about the future of our region, our province, and our country. There is still a lot of work to do but know Canada’s Conservatives are working for you.

Thank you for the honour of being able to work on your behalf in Canada’s Parliament. I am proud and deeply blessed to continue as the Member of Parliament for Battle River—Crowfoot as we begin 2024. From my family, my team, and on behalf of the Parliament of Canada, I wish everyone many blessings in the year to come.

Memorial tributes may be directed to Oyen and District Health Care Foundation, Box 1 Oyen, AB T0J 2J0 or to a charity of donor’s choice.

Following the service, a family luncheon will be hosted by Simply Satisfied Catering (Kelly Skappak) at the Senior’s Rec Center.

Funeral arrangements in care of MacLean’s Funeral Home, Oyen, Alberta