What Matters to You – Sept 22 MLA Updates & the NIMBY Syndrome

It’s been a while since I’ve had an article published in our local papers.  It’s not for lack of writing but rather, timing.  Conferences, special projects, some holiday time with my family, and the passing of Her Majesty the Queen unfortunately haven’t allowed me to get the articles out to the paper. 

For those that have expressed a deep concern about my articles in the past, I hope that you enjoyed the break.  For the large majority who have been asking why I have not been writing, well, I’m happy to be back, and here we go!

Politics

There is a new federal Conservative Party leader and it does look like the sparks are going to fly this fall session.  He garners a very broad demographic of support and participation from all walks of life and age groups.  I personally believe that we will have some western representation again, but more importantly, someone leading our Official Opposition who gets the big picture of what Canada can do on the world stage and how we need to contribute.

We also have a leadership race underway for the UCP that will determine the direction and tone for the upcoming spring election.  It is not surprising that there are some strong candidates, and there are some very similar themes between all of them.  The nuances on the execution of their ideas is where they differ: I’ve endorsed Travis Toews as leader because I know him from working with him for the last 3 years, and I trust him to get the job done.  He has experience and has delivered on several items in the past.  A handshake still means something to him.

The US Senators and Representatives I met this summer from both parties want to work with Alberta.  I’ll be heading down to Detroit as I sit on the Energy and USA / Canada Relations Subcommittees. I’ll be following up with representatives and even potentially the Governor of Michigan to talk about the importance of our energy sector, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics.  They will be showing us their manufacturing capabilities, inclusive of the automotive sector and EV segments.  Alberta is of strategic importance to the USA and North America regarding energy, food, and supply chain security.  Again, it’s up to us to give our messages, taking a play from my Quebec colleagues and the advice they offered: Tell your story, don’t let the Feds do it for you.

New Career Task Force

I was asked by the Minister of Education to lead the “Career Education Task Force” that we recently kicked off. The initial report is due this December, and the final report due in February.  The vision is that it will be a clean sheet recommendation and will allow for cross jurisdictional scans and review of existing systems / programs.  It will include an implication plan with near-, mid-, and long-term deliverables.  It will also integrate well into the work I did as a team member of the Skilled Trades Task Force for Advanced Education in 2021.  The pitch I gave to the minister was that we need to review how we address career paths, how we can most efficiently launch kids into meaningful careers, and how we can ensure that there is an industry here that they can work in.  It also gives industries the talent pool needed to grow our economy.

When the rubber hits the road, we need to have home-grown solutions at our fingertips, and not be afraid to look to other areas in the world for inspiration on their own career orientated education programs.  We can once again be extremely competitive if we stop saying that we are number one, while ignoring all the indicators to the contrary. 

I’ll be announcing the members of the task force at a later date, but I’m all ears when it comes to those who would like to step forward to offer input, or to advise as subject matter experts.  I need a good mix of educators, industry leaders in health, engineering, agriculture, manufacturing, computer science, and aerospace.  In need to know how career education paths were created in the past, and to see how they are implemented now.  We need to identify gaps not only in competencies after the education is achieved, but also of the inefficiencies of time in the system to produce final results. 

There is a great opportunity for streamlining, as well as identification of overlaps.  The goal will also be to reduce the amount of time taken to determine that first career, and ensure it is a springboard to the next career: to break the cycle of snakes and ladders as it were.  We need the ability to recognize transferable skill sets and micro credentials to allow people to adapt, and change paths as needed.

If folks have heard me ask this, you are not the only one.  The vast majority of folks are just frustrated, and I get it.  However, most of the folks that have taken the first steps, are amazingly surprised with the immediate results that they can garner themselves…without the government, or the agencies getting involved.  People worry that these conversations would be too confrontational if they make their concerns known directly to the possible offending parties or industry…they would rather have a third party, such as the government, solve their problem. No matter what you do, sometimes you just can’t win, and you can guarantee that such people will continue to be disappointed and will continue to stir pots in the future.

In my personal experience, and in the role as the MLA, we have a constituency chalk full of incredible people.  They respect one another, and would go out of their way to help, and if they were causing undo harm, they would change their course of action.  By the same token, they too will stand their ground if pushed into a corner or have an “authority” come over the top rope with no warning.  So let’s work together to save the time, money, and tying up of resources…let’s pick up the phone, talk through the issue and collaborate on solutions and in doing so, keep the NIMBY monster at bay.

It’s good to be back folks! Enjoy the rest of your week.

Sincerely,

Shane Getson