Lesser Slave River Community Guide Winter 2017 | Page 4

The Reeve’s Report YOUR COUNCIL’S KEY PRIORITIES FOR 2017 It is my wish that the downturn in local and provincial economies reverses itself as soon as possible in 2017. Fiscal stewardship and the pursuit of increasingly scarce opportunities are key priorities your Council takes seriously during times such as these. As always, we work hard to balance the provision of services to the region without increasing the burden to ratepayers. MURRAY KERIK [email protected] cel. 780.349.0518 A change is occurring — an ever-increasing gulf — between what it means to live in rural Alberta (counties, municipal districts, towns and villages) versus living in the major urban centers. There is an increasing decoupling of vision; of governments working at cross purposes to one another. One such example is the closure of schools along our southern boundary, requiring school children from Lesser Slave River to ride on buses for excessive periods of time. Another is the lack of long-term certainty with respect to air ambulance provision out of the Slave Lake Airport. Additionally, while we agree that it is important to not pollute and to have clean air, the recent imposition of the provincial carbon tax levy has created burdens for northern communities such as ours. Geography largely determines where we live and work. This very geography — WINTER 2017 | Community Guide 780.849.4888 mdlsr.ca