What Matters to You – Town Halls and Real Conversations

I have a superpower: apparently, it is invisibility!

I discovered this ability a few weeks back when I heard in the house from the opposition members and the opposition party leader of the present that none of the UCP team would have real town halls to engage their constituents. I thought that was a fantastic phenomenon because when they were going on about that, we had already had our first town hall in Onoway, where 125 people came out. All the folks who came out and had the patience to listen to me walk through what was going on with the engagement process regarding the potential to move from the CPP to the APP were invisible, too.

No longer invisible, now!

I thought that was quite the phenomenon, so we had three more town halls yesterday, 2 in one day this week. Well, now, we are no longer invisible because all the folks that were coming out, and the discussions that we were having apparently reached the ears of the opposition leader, and they could no longer ignore what was taking place. So, instead of having a conversation about how the overwhelming majority of the folks who attended from our constituency and a number of the adjacent constituencies were supportive, the opposition resorted to grabbing a sound bite, taking it out of context, and trying to get the mainstream media folks to run with a story, additionally, having an “outraged” social media Tweet from the leader herself stating that “Arm Twisting” is a tactic being deployed as part of the rollout of the pension plan. Wow.

The opposition employs old tactics: launching rumours that town-halls are cancelled

If they think this recent ploy will slow down these weekly columns, the podcasts, the conversations, and the good old jaw sessions we have out here, they are sadly mistaken. I even heard advertisements and phone calls trying to convince people that town halls had been cancelled. Seriously? Having folks get together, bring down the temperature of the rhetoric, and have a real, meaningful back-and-forth conversation is a threat? Lord Help us! They have garnered the media for the most part, are filtering the internet, and now don’t want free assembly to take place. Good luck. Folks have caught onto the bs that has been fed to us by scoop shovels for the last few years, and from the comments and feedback that I’m getting at these town halls, folks have simply had enough.

Health Care Scare

We wrapped up a session last week, so this week has been in and out of Edmonton, chairing standing committee meetings and, as noted above, having town halls in the constituency. Lots of phone calls in the pickup, as I’ve been running from one place to the next. I had several calls that can break a person’s heart, working through issues trying to help people navigate a messed up healthcare system. As per the campaign, we knew it was broken and needed fixing. Our minister has been making changes in the structure. I fully believe that it will be foundational in making the necessary changes to put the patient back in the center again and ensure they get the help they need when needed. It will also fully support the front-line personnel and get their ideas and input on improving the system once implemented. There will be a bucket load of “Cry Wolf, and Health Scare” rhetoric as we move forward on this! I also know full well that there will be a large number of people who have been making a lot of money in an inefficient system that does not want the changes we are proposing. I will keep taking the calls and working with the team on my end to do all we can to make sure folks don’t get lost in the system, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. It will take a group effort, while the changes are made that the ones with problems are identified and that we help our friends, neighbours, and family get the services they deserve.

Working Hard and Showing Results

Looking back over the last several months since the election, a tremendous amount of work was performed on a short timeline. We also went through a pile of rough waters to get here, but I’m confident that our track is showing some short-term results already and will bear fruit over the next few years. We have a hostile federal government on many files, but we also have a mandate to do the right thing for Albertans. We will continue to negotiate first work with our municipal and provincial partners, but make no mistake when the federal government and their cheerleaders here on the home front want to take a run at our province, we will back them down every single time.

We have been blessed with so many resources, but our best ones are our own people and way of life. We have a confident attitude here, we make things happen, we are resilient, self-sufficient, and all the while deeply caring, not only about the folks in our own area but also fellow Canadians. These feelings I had were absolutely validated by the several town halls I’ve been part of over the last few weeks. I’ll be making my rounds to the seniors’ homes again to catch up with our elders and answer their questions directly, many thanks for the invitations!

Final Thoughts

Stay Strong and Free, keep conversing with each other, and keep looking towards a bright future because we have so many wonderful things happening in our province, despite what others may try to tell you. Take care, God Bless, and Merry Christmas.

Sincerely,

Shane Getson