Opposition for opposition's sake? - TownAndCountryToday.com

Opposition for opposition's sake? ... The role of the official Opposition whether it be in provincial or federal politics is to hold the governing ... Skiptocontent Home Opinion Oppositionforopposition’ssake? TheroleoftheofficialOppositionwhetheritbeinprovincialorfederalpoliticsistoholdthegoverningpartyaccountable.Thisdoesn’tnecessarilymeantheyhavetoopposeeverymoveagovernmentmakes. BarryKerton May29,201812:01AM ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedIn ForwardbyEmail Print ShareviaTextMessage TheroleoftheofficialOppositionwhetheritbeinprovincialorfederalpoliticsistoholdthegoverningpartyaccountable. Thisdoesn’tnecessarilymeantheyhavetoopposeeverymoveagovernmentmakes. Onanalmostdailybasis,wereceivepressreleasesfromtheUnitedConservativeParty(UCP)andtheCanadianConservativePartyofCanadacondemningvariousactionsthegoverningparties,areorarenotdoing—oftenwegetseveralofthesereleasesfromthesamepartyinoneday. Oftenthecriticismiswarranted,butoften,inouropinion,itseemslikeitismoreofacaseofoppositionforopposition’ssake. Unfortunately,thatiswhatwebelievetheUnitedConservativePartyisdoingwhenitcondemnedtheprovincialgovernmentforsendingHighwoodMLAWayneAnderson’sprivatemember’sbill,EmploymentStandards(FirefighterLeave)AmendmentAct,tocommitteeforfurtherreview. Thebill’spurpose,asyouwillreadonpages3Aand5Aistoallowpart-timefirefighterswhohavebeenemployedforatleast90daysbythesameemployer,theabilitytotakeoccasionalunpaidleaveforwhentheyarecalledupontoassistinfireservices.Thebillwouldalsoprohibitemployersfromrefusingtoemploypart-timefirefighters. Andersonsaidbysendingthebillforreviewtheyareessentiallydoomingittodie.Ifitdoesitwouldbethesecondtime—inDecember2016hetriedtointroduceasimilarbill,butitdiedontheorderpaper. “Especiallywithfireseasoncomingupsoon,ourvolunteerfirefightersshouldknowthatwehavetheirback,”hesaid.“Regrettably,theNDPhasonceagainchosenpartisanshipovercommon-sense.” Butourquestionishavethey? Weagreeonthefaceofit,thebillwouldbebenefitruralvolunteerfiredepartments.InAlberta,about80percentofallfirefightersarevolunteers,orpaidpercall.Ifruraldepartmentsarenotabletocontinuetorecruitvolunteers,theirfutureisinjeopardy.Ifthevolunteermodelnolongerisviablethatwouldmeanabout450communitieswouldeitherlosefirecoverage,hirefull-timeprofessionalfirefighters,oraprivatecontractor. Allofwhich,withtheexceptionofgoingwithoutfirecoverage,aremore-costlyoptionsandinalllikelihoodoutofreachformostcommunities. SowhythenwouldtheNDPdecidetomoveittocommitteeand,askstakeholdersfortheirinput? Quitesimplyitisn’tnecessarilyaslam-dunk.BarrheadRegionalFireServiceschiefJohnWhittakerisn’tsurethebillwillhaveitsdesiredimpact.Hesaysitcould,butjustaslikelycouldenduphurtingruraldepartments. TownofWestlockfirechiefStuartKoflicksaidinaninterviewwithoursisterpaper,theWestlockNews,inDecember2017healsohasreservationsandsodoesTownofBarrheadcouncil. Doesthebillmeritdiscussion?YesandthisissomethingtheOppositionshouldn’tbeopposedto. Seeatypo/mistake? Haveastory/tip? AbouttheAuthor:BarryKerton BarryKertonisthemanagingeditoroftheBarrheadLeader,joiningthepaperin2014.Hecoversnews,municipalpoliticsandsports. Readmore Thisstorywasimportanttomeorourcommunity: viewresults> NotVery Slightly Fairly Very Extremely Thishasbeenshared0times 0 Shares ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter ShareonLinkedIn ForwardbyEmail Print ShareviaTextMessage GetyourdailyWestlock,Athabasca,Barrheadnewsbriefing Email SignUp MoreOpinion TimetoActonOnlineHarassment Oct15,202111:00AM COLUMN:Regionscan“huntinapack”;municipalitiesnotasmuch Jan12,20214:00PM COLUMN:HepatitisCissilentlikethefog Aug17,20209:32AM LatestPoll Wouldyoubeinfavouroftobaccoandvapecompaniesbeingtaxedextra? viewrelatedstory Yes No Vote Results> Archives>