Higher expectations for MP Jean now
Editorial appeared in Fort McMurray Today April 11, 2006.
When Jack Shields represented this region in Parliament, the Progressive Conservative MP helped extend the federal northern residents deduction south to Fort McMurray.
It was a great idea then, and now. Unfortunately, people who live in the Oilsands City get half of the income tax deduction that our cousins in Yellowknife or Whitehorse boast.
Half a loaf was better than none at the time.
But with the inflation hitting everything from a treat at the coffee shop to rents and house prices, we're in the same boat as many of those who call Nunavut, the Northwest Territories or the Yukon home.
The situation is eerily the same when one considers the diamond mines in the N.W.T. and compares them with oilsands operations.
On just about every level, the federal government has failed Fort McMurray. The removal of the coast guard and the dredging of the Athabasca River to Fort Chipewyan was a big blow.
We've seen very little interaction with Ottawa -- apart from elections -- in this region. There is the RCMP, but the boys and girls in blue are paid for by Wood Buffalo and the Alberta government, not the feds.
Maybe we were shunned because of our voting record. There hasn't been a Liberal representing Fort McMurray since the '60s.
Former MP Dave Chatters constantly raised the issue of a better shake for this region's residents from the opposition Reform, then Alliance Party benches. His entreaties fell on deaf Liberal ears.
In his first posting to Ottawa, Conservative Brian Jean tried this issue on, carrying on the groundwork that Chatters laid.
He got nowhere.
Now Jean sits on the government side of the House of Commons. Expectations are higher now.
The allowance was established when a government MP -- Jack Shields was a minister during the Brian Mulroney term -- used his influence and persuaded policymakers to bend the boundaries for us.
If there were ever a time to lobby for further allowances, this is it.
Costs in Fort McMurray are out of control. A recent project tendered by the municipality -- for a facility to supply water to trucks -- is almost double original estimates.
That's fine for Wood Buffalo, where the money can be repaid by charging higher fees or raising taxes. But what about average citizens who don't make huge oilsands wages, and must contend with the inflationary spiral in their own lives?
A break from the federal government, after they cash in on this region to the tunes of billions of dollars a year, is in order.
We're counting on Jean, now that he and the prime minister share the same party affiliation, to do everything he can to make sure we get it.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
When Jack Shields represented this region in Parliament, the Progressive Conservative MP helped extend the federal northern residents deduction south to Fort McMurray.
It was a great idea then, and now. Unfortunately, people who live in the Oilsands City get half of the income tax deduction that our cousins in Yellowknife or Whitehorse boast.
Half a loaf was better than none at the time.
But with the inflation hitting everything from a treat at the coffee shop to rents and house prices, we're in the same boat as many of those who call Nunavut, the Northwest Territories or the Yukon home.
The situation is eerily the same when one considers the diamond mines in the N.W.T. and compares them with oilsands operations.
On just about every level, the federal government has failed Fort McMurray. The removal of the coast guard and the dredging of the Athabasca River to Fort Chipewyan was a big blow.
We've seen very little interaction with Ottawa -- apart from elections -- in this region. There is the RCMP, but the boys and girls in blue are paid for by Wood Buffalo and the Alberta government, not the feds.
Maybe we were shunned because of our voting record. There hasn't been a Liberal representing Fort McMurray since the '60s.
Former MP Dave Chatters constantly raised the issue of a better shake for this region's residents from the opposition Reform, then Alliance Party benches. His entreaties fell on deaf Liberal ears.
In his first posting to Ottawa, Conservative Brian Jean tried this issue on, carrying on the groundwork that Chatters laid.
He got nowhere.
Now Jean sits on the government side of the House of Commons. Expectations are higher now.
The allowance was established when a government MP -- Jack Shields was a minister during the Brian Mulroney term -- used his influence and persuaded policymakers to bend the boundaries for us.
If there were ever a time to lobby for further allowances, this is it.
Costs in Fort McMurray are out of control. A recent project tendered by the municipality -- for a facility to supply water to trucks -- is almost double original estimates.
That's fine for Wood Buffalo, where the money can be repaid by charging higher fees or raising taxes. But what about average citizens who don't make huge oilsands wages, and must contend with the inflationary spiral in their own lives?
A break from the federal government, after they cash in on this region to the tunes of billions of dollars a year, is in order.
We're counting on Jean, now that he and the prime minister share the same party affiliation, to do everything he can to make sure we get it.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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