By Justin Goulet

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AUMA President touring Alberta to discuss provincial, local issues

Aug 28, 2019 | 10:08 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Communities across Alberta can all face similar issues, but the solutions to those issues are not always necessarily the same.

That’s according to Barry Morishita, the Mayor of Brooks and the President of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA).

The AUMA is an organization that helps urban communities gain the skills to thrive to their fullest potential. Morishita is currently on tour across the province to discuss issues with elected officials and community members at the local level.

“This is the second year we’ve done this (tour of Alberta). Last year, we did 61 communities, met over 200 elected officials. This time we’re going to hit about 55 and I think we’ll be over 200 this year,” Morishita recently told Lethbridge News Now.

He noted that the best way to learn about what’s going on is to visit communities directly.

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“It leaves a good impression for us at the board level when issues come up, whether they’re about Lethbridge, Crowsnest Pass or Brooks or whatever. It informs us a lot better when we’re talking to ministers as well, and it’s a great personal experience. It’s kind of neat. I’ve been in communities that I’ve never stopped in before,” he said.

Morishita said collaboration goes a long way, and it’s important to work together to help build a thriving community.

“We’re not mutually exclusive of each other. The people in Lethbridge are Albertans, the people in Alberta that reside in Lethbridge want their community to look, feel and be a safe place for a number of people,” he noted.

“The other thing is our society should be supporting people who have less means to support themselves. I think by getting together and talking about it – that’s what AUMA’s job is – to advocate for communities like that and make sure these communities become better places to live in the future.”

He said one problem communities can face is they will have a great idea come through municipal office doors, but provincial policies and regulations derail those plans.

Using a wastewater project as an example, Morishita said that can result in major cost savings for a community and be sustainable, but provincial regulations may prohibit the project from going through.

“The thing that AUMA has advocated for a lot is flexibility, so we’ve been big proponents for things like block funding and unconditional grants because while generally the issues are the same broadly (in urban Albertan areas) – individually in a community, the same solution or the same initiative doesn’t suit every community,” he said.

Morishita said his tour will conclude at the end of the month. The AUMA’s top priorities for this year include infrastructure funding, police services, red tape and cannabis revenue.

AUMA represented urban municipalities since 1905 and serves over 275 communities.