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Round table needed better turnout |
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Tuesday, 31 July 2007 |
Professionals from a variety of sectors as well as a couple community members provided Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Paul Hinman with plenty of ideas for positive change. Now what those people and others in the community will be waiting for is change.
Hinman got a turnout of 12 people at the roundtable discussion held last Wednesday evening and while those who attended can rightfully be expecting to see some results some time in the future, those who did not attend should not have much to complain about. Sure people are busy, but when a local MLA is taking time to go on a fact-finding mission, community members should be willing to take time out of their busy schedules to give him some insight as to what they view as the main issues.
People who were in attendance provided a lot of feedback to Hinman on what they perceive as the main things requiring change in their line of work. Hinman, therefore walked away with a feast of knowledge on what people would like to see in areas such as policing, food banks, women's shelters and water conservation. He did not, however, receive much information on what the general public would like him to address in Edmonton. Of the 12 people who attended, only two were there strictly as community members. Perhaps the next time locals have the opportunity to voice their opinions to someone who has a voice in Edmonton, more community members should take advantage of the chance.
The group in attendance was small, but did not fall short with the amount of ideas they provided.
Some questions asked regarding funding leaves one scratching their head. For example why are food banks struggling and not recognized by the province when Alberta is said to be the richest province? Why does our society set women up to sometimes slide back through the cracks by not having much in terms of housing for them to access once they have gotten the courage to leave their abusers?
Some ideas expressed at the session are ones that should be applauded and implemented quickly.
For example, it was suggested, at the forum, those who are convicted of impaired driving several times should be required to attend a Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) vigil ceremony. Maybe, the suggestion could be motivation for other communities to offer any ideas they have to our local MLA, either in private discussion or at a community meeting. Often, just like assuming certain questions would sound stupid if we were to ask them, people are scared of telling their ideas to others.
Some people may have an excellent idea but because they never bother to open up about it, great initiatives that could have been developed as a result of their ideas never happen.
Our MLAs are there to hear any ideas we have for consideration, so why not put our ideas out there? |
