With the late arrival of snow and wintry weather, it’s hard to believe the holiday season is already here! For me, the festivities truly begin with the many holiday markets that pop up across our beautiful riding. Last year, I set the objective of visiting all our community holiday markets to connect with our amazing artist community and get my holiday shopping done. We have so many talented, creative, and lovely artisans in our riding and it’s such a gift to chat with them and share their incredible products with my loved ones over the holidays. These markets are also a wonderful opportunity to meet residents and support local businesses.
In addition to enjoying many markets and local events, and resuming Trail Days with Sarah, I’ve continued hosting MLA on Tour events across our riding. I’ve always had an objective that nobody should have to drive more than 30 minutes to meet with me. These gatherings, whether in community halls, coffee shops, or even on a hike, continue to be one of my favorite parts of being your MLA. Listening to your stories, ideas, and concerns grounds me and helps me put our legislature debates into a local context.
MLA on Tour has been such a success that we’re going to add more dates starting in the new year, even when I’m in session. Joan, my constituency assistant, has been a tremendous help and I know many of you have already met her. When we resume MLA on Tour events in the new year, Joan may attend some events to gather your feedback; I remain committed to being there whenever I can.
The fall session of legislature ends at the start of December. It’s been a busy fall session with many bills to debate, some of which were particularly egregious. Again, I felt as if much of the debate wasn’t focused on issues that you care about. When the legislature is in session, I focus on raising your concerns, sharing your ideas, and advocating for your priorities. You can see how I do that by following my social media, YouTube channel, and bi-monthly newsletter.
The most difficult bills to debate this fall were the three targeting Trans people in our 2SLGBTQIA+ community. These bills foster segregation and feed into division. I still believe that diversity is our strength and all of our communities are better, more vibrant, and more interesting when people are free to be who they are. I stood proud with my colleagues to oppose these bills and will continue to support the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in any way I can.
I’ve also been focused on changes to wildlife management. Policy shifts by the Minister of Forestry & Parks, such as permitting grizzly bear hunting, expanding mountain goat hunting, and removing trapping limits for fur bearers (e.g., wolverine and fisher) remain deeply concerning. What I find most disturbing about these changes is that none of them are based on the best available science about population size and density. Grizzly bears, wolverine, and fisher are species at risk. Reducing human-caused mortality is one of the easiest ways to help recovery species at risk. As a wildlife biologist, I am perplexed and disappointed that meaningful decisions impacting wildlife populations are being made without consulting experts or current research. I will continue to champion this as protecting species at risk is foundational to addressing overall biodiversity, which the government maintains is important.
Finally, during this holiday season, I want to thank you for your continued support and engagement. May your days be filled with joy, love, and connection (and too many cookies) as we celebrate the holidays. My office will be closed for the holidays from December 23-January 6th. I look forward to a bright new year ahead and continuing to work together to create a better future for Alberta. Happy Holidays!
Sarah Elmeligi
