Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Bruce Rowe, who represents residents of Irricana, Beiseker and northeast Rocky View, is taking a leadership role at the Legislature.
In addition to serving as the Official Opposition critic for Municipal Affairs, Rowe is deputy chair of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship (SCRS) as well as a member of the Standing Committee on Private Bills (SCPB).
“With these expanded duties, I am pleased to be able to bring the views of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills residents to the forefront in Edmonton,” said Rowe. “As a former mayor, I have tremendous respect for the committee process. When partisanship is checked at the door, committees can properly review issues and legislation, offering quality recommendations.”
The SCRS is a 25-member committee made up of MLAs from all four provincial parties. Its mandate is to review issues and legislation relating to several government departments including environment, sustainable resource development, transportation, municipal affairs, treasury board, and finance and energy.
According to Rowe, the SCRS was formed in late spring and members have met twice. Now that the fall sitting of the Legislature is underway, the committee members will meet once a week.
As moved by Rowe, the committee’s first order of business will be to conduct a study on expanding hydroelectric energy production in northern Alberta. The membership is looking at small weir-like dams that would be used to produce energy.
Rowe said it is an important issue and one that the committee will hear from all stakeholders, including experts, First Nations representatives and those from Alberta’s oilsands, the provincial sector that will likely use most of the electricity generated by the potential dams.
“Hydroelectricity is the cleanest you can produce,” he said. “With the electrical situation the way it is in the province, and coal generation coming under fire, we are going to have to look at viable, clean alternatives and this is certainly one of them.”
Rowe also served notice that he would like to see the SCRS discuss the electricity market, transmission-line projects and oil patch fracking.
“All of these issues are matters of importance to the people of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills as well as citizens across the province,” said Rowe.
The SCPB is also an all-party committee made up of 21 MLAs with a mandate to review all petitions for private bills.
According to Rowe, the committee has not yet met.
“Private bills are an essential part of our political system,” said Rowe. “Not only do they allow MLAs to bring forward issues of importance to their constituents, but they often provide common ground between political parties,” said Rowe.
Rowe said working with his political counterparts has been productive so far.
“We aren’t there to make political points at this level and… everyone is working towards doing the right thing. There are some good people on that committee (SCRS) that have a lot to contribute.”
