Many highlights in 2017 for Lethbridge East MLA
MARIA FITZPATRICK TRAVELLED NEAR AND FAR
There was plenty of action in Edmonton. But for Maria Fitzpatrick, the MLA for Lethbridge East, highlights of the past year happened in many other locations as well.
“The high point was when the Japanese princess came to the Nikka Yuko Garden,” to help celebrate its 50th anniversary, she says.
“That was a highlight for me personally,” and for other public representatives.
But there were many more, Fitzpatrick said in a year-end interview.
Volunteers and city officials particularly impressed her when they played host to the committee selecting a site for the upcoming Police and Fire Games — subsequency awarded to Windsor, Ont.
The visitors arrived at a very busy time, she noted.
“It was Oktoberfest and Galt Gardens was packed.”
But there were many other events that same weekend, she remembers, including a soccer tournament, a training exercise for first responders, and special events at Lethbridge College. And the firefighters’ association served up breakfast in the river valley.
The visitors, she reports, were “very impressed.” They certainly learned that Lethbridge supports sports.
“And hats off to Susan Eymann,” Fitzpatrick says, for putting in so much effort on that initiative and so many more.
Alberta firefighters also deserve credit for their determination and heroism in facing the wildfire in Waterton Lakes National Park, she says. During a briefing afterward, Fitzpatrick learned how much they risked to save what they could — including the landmark Prince of Wales hotel.
“The fire was 50 feet away from them,” and could have trapped them if the wind changed.
In the aftermath, she reported, they attended sessions to help reduce their post-traumatic stress.
On another life-saving front, Fitzpatrick has praise for the Lethbridge people and government health officials who are creating a safe-use site for men and women addicted to opioids. She credits Arches executive director Stacey Bourque and her staff for submitting a successful proposal to Health Canada ahead of other Alberta communities.
“Lethbridge worked together to make that happen,” she pointed out. “I’m incredibly impressed.”
On the legislative front, Fitzpatrick says she was pleased to support bills and initiatives relating to worker safety, gay-straight alliances in schools, and the government’s ongoing energy efficiency program.
But she was also excited to see first-hand how business is conducted in the House of Commons — the original one, in London. Along with an opposition MLA, she was selected to participate in an educational visit for first-time members of the Alberta legislature.
In Westminster, she learned, MPs are encouraged to discuss their proposed bills with the Speaker . . . and how to get the Speaker’s attention when they’re ready to introduce one.
Fitzpatrick was surprised to see there are no desks in the chamber — just benches — and so there’s no deskthumping let alone applause.
And it’s adviseable for MPs to arrive early, she adds. “There’s seating for about 450,” she explains. “But there are 650 MPs.”