Limitations or possibilities
Published November 23, 2005
Strathcona County, because of its specialized municipality status, is a member of the
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMD&C). The fall AAMD&C meeting was held in Edmonton earlier this month. In addition to the usual elections and resolutions a 'bear pit' session was held with almost every cabinet minister in attendance. That is always an interesting opportunity to grill the government; however, I would have to say the highlight of the conference for me was the guest speaker, Alvin Law. Mr. Law's birth mother was given thalidomide during her pregnancy and he was born without any arms. It would be an understatement for him to say that life is not simple. It is almost impossible to imagine how he performs, what to us would be, the most basic of tasks let alone driving, playing the piano or holding his children. Where we come from is the only perspective we have in trying to understand how Alvin Law could possibly function independently but thank goodness where we saw limitations he saw possibilities. To understand Mr Law's abilities we need to see things like we have never done before.
Sometimes our perspective makes it difficult for us to understand the diverse needs of our community because of its unique blend of urban and rural, but it is often even more difficult for other municipalities to understand us. We certainly don't fit into the typical rural lifestyle and I don't know how many times we are asked why Sherwood Park is still a hamlet! It is always interesting to see people's reaction when you mention there are eight other hamlets in the county, none of which have the Park's urban amenities but do offer their own special opportunities.
With opportunities come challenges. We just have to look at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, home to Fort McMurray and the tar sands operations to know that industry brings excellent job opportunities and a strong tax base but requires adequate housing, infrastructure, recreational and social challenges. We face some of the same challenges in Strathcona County and we as council, the residents and other levels of government must try and understand as well.
We were the first specialized municipality in Alberta but are now joined by Wood Buffalo, the M.D. of MacKenzie (Fort Vermillion the most notable hamlet) and Jasper. Life is not simple in a specialized municipality but in Strathcona it is truly amazing! As we enter the holiday season I encourage you to take the time to reflect on how fortunate we are.
Jacquie Fenske
Councillor, Ward 5
780-464-8147
fenske@strathcona.ab.ca
Last updated: Thursday, March 25, 2010
Page ID: 2027