By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Minister cites ‘Inflamed rhetoric’ in cancelling Bighorn town hall meetings

Jan 5, 2019 | 3:08 PM

Alberta’s environment minister says fear for a lack of safety is forcing the provincial government to cancel a series of town halls intended to gain public feedback on the Bighorn Country proposal.

Meetings were scheduled to take place Monday in Drayton Valley, Wednesday in Red Deer, January 14 in Sundre and January 15 in Edmonton.

In a statement on Saturday, Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips said in recent weeks she has become increasingly concerned about the inflamed rhetoric and inaccurate statements made by some organizations and individuals on social media.

“This has led to significant misinformation on the status and substance of the proposal for Bighorn Country and, more recently, allegations of bullying, abuse, and concerns over personal safety,” Phillips said.

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“I have heard stories of Albertans afraid to attend community events, Albertans berated in public, Albertans followed home, and Albertans feeling intimidated to not speak their mind or participate in this important discussion. These reports are not only deeply concerning, this behaviour is not reflective of the values we all share.”

Phillips is also urging her fellow MLAs to denounce the bullying and harassment.

In the meantime, Phillips says the government will schedule two telephone town hall sessions where Albertans from Drayton Valley and Red Deer can engage with elected officials directly. As well, the engagement period will be extended from Jan. 31 until Feb. 15.

“We will continue to engage with all Albertans in the weeks to come. We believe our proposal for Bighorn Country sets the stage to achieve the right balance of environmental, economic, Indigenous and social values and goals,” Phillips added. “We’ve developed this proposal thoughtfully and have used what we’ve heard from 30 years of consultations to draft it.”

Jason Nixon, who is UCP MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House, issued a rebuttal to Phillips’ statement.

“We have repeatedly called for a fulsome, thorough and respectful debate from all parties and individuals,” he said. “I have personally attended a number of public events, and while attendees were very concerned with the proposal, they were also completely civil. I have not seen the intimidation the Minister speaks of, although I would certainly denounce any efforts to intimidate.”

Nixon went on to say that the NDP is trying to ram through “fake consultation” on an issue of major consequence. He calls it completely unacceptable to arbitrarily cancel the meetings.

“It’s clear that the NDP should delay the final decision indefinitely until a proper consultation can take place. This issue is too important to get wrong,” he stated.

The province’s $40 million, five-year proposal would establish the Bighorn Wildland Provincial Park, in addition to three others. There would also be three provincial recreation areas developed to accommodate future demand for commercial development.

More information on the proposal is on the Government of Alberta website.