Crowsnest Candidates’ forum raises questions

Crowsnest Municipal Council Candidates Forum
C. Davis photos and videos

Joni MacFarlane, Crowsnest Voice

Residents of Crowsnest Pass had the opportunity to hear from candidates running for municipal council at the much-anticipated public forum hosted by Crowsnest Pass Chamber of Commerce.

Each of the 15 candidates vying for a seat at council gave a brief introductory speech followed by a question and answer period in a controlled time period and tightly enforced by mediator Val Danielson.


By turns, humorous and informative, the diverse range of personalities was clearly on view and the broad range of questions gave the packed auditorium a clear window into candidates’ personalities and perspectives.

An initial misstep left moderator and audience confused when mayoral candidates were introduced and John Prince was missed. Prince was in fact present and Danielson apologized for the misinformation given to her.

A separate forum was held on October 10 for mayoral candidates.

While some questions were directed to candidates who didn’t have the necessary information, most put their best foot forward to try and win voter support in the short time allotted them. In some instances, questions did not receive direct answers and often times, there were insubstantial pledges to “move forward”.

As the Crowsnest Pass struggles with financial concerns, a majority of questions focused on the economy.

On the issue of taxation and whether it was fair to say Crowsnest Pass has a high tax residential tax rate, candidate Doreen Glavin received a round of applause when she succinctly said her taxes had gone up 150% and that was unfair.

Asked how to encourage economic development, incumbent Brian Gallant said he believes the community is overdeveloped.

“Development is very difficult, it’s very challenging, it’s very risky,” he said. “One of the biggest problems we have right now is a lack of serviced industrial land… We need to focus on increasing our capacity and making sure that when businesses are ready to come in here that we have the tools in place to welcome them.”

Another resident asked how candidates would tackle development in the Sentinel area and pay for servicing after the province has repeatedly refused to put sewer and water lines in or fresh water wells.

Incumbent Emile Saindon said council should look at federal monies but also that there might be land in the east end of the municipality that may be serviceable at a lower cost.

Candidate Paul Saltarelli said he believes in the P3 system (public-private partnerships).

“The bureaucracy can be simplified,” he said. “When you’re working in P3, everyone’s on the same page, things happen and I think quickly. So long as the powers that be, and especially here in the Crowsnest Pass, allow us to do this.”

On the issue of sustainable, long-term jobs, candidate Bill Kovach said he believes the Crowsnest Pass has more problems to deal with before attracting business.

“I really believe our community needs to be on a positive growth forward and that means us working together in the future, using our volunteers and our administrators and our workers in the municipality to get a good community that when people come here, they see it’s a good place to live, it’s a good place to settle and possibly a great place to open up your business,” said Kovach. “The Crowsnest Pass needs to pull themselves together and work together and show people that want to come here, that we can handle them.”
Another resident asked what services or programs candidates would cut to ensure a balanced budget and not raise taxes.
“You’ve got to control the spending. We spent a lot of money and in my opinion, foolishly,” said candidate Ed Strembicki. “We also hired an individual to be the fire chief. We found out, he wasn’t qualified, so what do we do? We hire an assistant that’s qualified. Who did the hiring?”

The need for seniors’ assisted living and expansion of York Creek Lodge was raised twice.

Sasha JaegerBaird said she believes council must honour its commitment to put money into the seniors reserve towards expansion of the York Creek Lodge.

“Last year to balance the budget, they took away $100,000 from the seniors fund,” she said. “The one thing I would ensure is that we honour that commitment.”

Answering a question on how they can wear two hats, candidates Kovach and Shar Lazzarotto both said there was no conflict of interest between their role with Community Futures and a seat on council.

“I sit on Community Futures as a board member and a taxpayer in this community. It has nothing to do with being a councillor,” said Kovach.

Lazzarotto agreed and said there were many instances of Community Futures officers across the province who served on council.

“I don’t think there’s any conflict at all between being a person on council and Community Futures,” she said. “We would be working in collaboration with the municipality and not against them.”

Other questions centered on the benefits of hiring consultants, and the province’s recommendation to conduct a viability study on the municipality. Candidate Dave Filipuzzi said the recommendation came as a shock to many.

“It’s something we’ve got to work really hard and diligent towards to not let happen. We have to stay together as a community and work together as a community to keep ourselves in a viable situation where we can afford to move forward,” he said. “I’m concerned about that part of the report… I think that part will never become reality.”

Candidate Marlene Anctil, who described herself as third generation, also responded.

“We’re fighters. We don’t give up in the Crowsnest Pass and I’ll be damned if I’ll let the Crowsnest Pass give up this time,” she said passionately.

Twice, current councillor Siegbert Gail, who is not running for re-election, addressed the issue of CAO briefing meetings and asked about an allegation that these meetings were inappropriate. As part of his question, he defensively said, “Council does not and nothing has ever been proven that we make decisions in these meetings”.

“We ask him for information regarding policies and governance of the community. We ask him to put input what we’re going to go ahead and bring before council,” said incumbent Larry Mitchell. “I see no wrongdoing in having a CAO give us a briefing on what’s happening in the community so that we can respond to the community at large about what we think should be done at that time.”
Candidate Dean Ward was asked how he would work as a team player.

“In any organization you’re going to have disagreements, you’re going to have positions. That’s politics and that’s fine. That’s called democracy,” said Ward. “I’m going to take stands on positions I believe in and if six other people disagree with me, that’s fine… We all need to take positions. Yes, I can work with anybody.”

Incumbent Jerry Lonsbury said that even if you disagree with a position, “when council makes a decision, that is your point of view. You accept the decision of council and that’s how council must operate.”

Interestingly, three of four incumbents (Lonsbury, Mitchell and Saindon) said they would not put any money into the Albert Stella Memorial Arena while other candidates replied that they would.  Candidate Tim Juhlin responded, that it “depends”.
One of the topics raised several times was communication between council and the public.

Candidate Jamie Thomson said she believes in quarterly town hall meetings. “That way if you’re uncertain about something, you’ve got an open council that are willing to answer your questions. That, if anything, is what this community needs. Questions answered.”
Candidate Marlene Anctil said she wants to establish better rapport with the public.

“I think our council, at times, got lost in this scenario where people were sort of shunned and pushed aside. That can’t go on if we’re going to unite this community,” she said. “We have to come together. Council has to be transparent and the citizens of the Crowsnest Pass have to be allowed to speak their piece of mind.”

A round of applause greeted a question over the use of the municipal newsletter and the mayor as spokesman. He asked whether councillors would respond when they disagree with what the mayor speaks or writes on their behalf.

Strembicki said he took offense to some references to people as CAVERs or rednecks.

“Coming from an educated individual, I did not accept that and I will not accept it,” he said. “That is not how a council member or an elected official should perform.”

One resident who pointed out that none of the candidates had addressed environmental issues, asked what kind of protection they would give if elected.

Candidate Tim Juhlin, who also works for ESRD, said the biggest challenges the Crowsnest Pass faces are access management issues to balance the demands of off-highway vehicle access with protection of land and riparian areas. He stressed the need for sustainable trails and also offered a suggestion for realignment of Highway 3 west of Coleman to protect a resident elk herd.

A resident also asked if candidates would support a provincial wildland recreation area or park in the area. Candidates Mitchell and Juhlin both responded no, they would not support such a development.

The prickly issue of the restructuring of the fire department was addressed towards the end of the forum, but unfortunately candidate Lonsbury, who was responding, was cut off as he began to give an account of what happened.

Lastly, each candidate had another brief opportunity to address the audience with many urging people to get out and vote.

Voters go to the polls on Monday, October 21 with an advance poll to be held on Tuesday, October 15.