Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek held an in-person town hall on Thursday, October 13 in the Town of Drumheller council chambers to take questions from attendees and talk about things happening in Parliament.
About a dozen people attended the meeting, including council representatives from Hanna and Starland County, and brought forward questions ranging in topic from the proposed redistribution of federal electoral boundaries, cell phone coverage in rural areas, and high distribution fees on natural gas and electricity.
“Redistribution highlights the disparity between urban and rural,” MP Kurek stated. “Rural matters and (it) can, and should, be part of Canada’s future.”
MP Kurek explained Alberta’s high population growth over the last 10 years has resulted in the province gaining an additional three electoral districts, bringing the total number of districts to 37.
Although this will give Albertans additional representation at Parliament, MP Kurek did express some concerns with the proposed changes. MP Kurek encouraged those with concerns over the proposed changes to write a letter to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Alberta ahead of the November 1 deadline.
“There’s so much potential that exists in rural Canada,” MP Kurek stated. “We cannot let rural be forgotten.”
MP Kurek also acknowledged concerns about a lack of reliable cell phone coverage in rural areas.
In some rural areas with no cell coverage, this can also mean no 9-1-1 service, either. He says Canada needs more telecommunication competition as it will lead to better accountability and push these companies to build the necessary infrastructure in these areas.
Another issue brought up were the high distribution rates on utility bills. While MP Kurek advised this is a provincial issue, and not one he has jurisdiction over, he is cognizant of the issue.
He noted Drumheller-Stettler MLA Nate Horner has introduced a bill at the Alberta Legislature asking for the provincial government to assist in reducing distribution fees, and at Parliament, the Conservatives have tried to move the Liberal government to cut the GST portion from home heating utilities, such as natural gas.
The Liberals voted against this motion.
