ENTERPRISE
Economic development dominated talk at a poorly attended all-candidates forum held in Enterprise Nov. 24, in advance of the upcoming hamlet elections.
Mike St. Amour: Wants more participation by the public.
Craig McMaster: Wants to help develop tourism in the community.
Joe Lalonde: Wants to pursue alternate energy ideas.
John Leskiw: Says hamlet must promote itself better. |
Mayoral candidates Craig McMaster, Mike St. Amour and Joe Lalonde, along with council candidate, John Leskiw, discussed their priorities and took questions from the six residents in attendance.
Each candidate expressed a need for growth in Enterprise by attracting businesses and creating jobs.
Lalonde, a resident of Enterprise for four years, said water and sewage services that are currently being contracted to workers outside of the community need to be done locally.
"In order for us to sustain ourselves with economic growth, we need jobs," he said.
Lalonde, who has served as a councillor for the past two years, said he is also interested in pursuing alternative energy initiatives to try to make Enterprise an example in the territory.
St. Amour, the hamlet's fire chief, said he decided to run for mayor because he didn't like the direction council was going. He said his main goal is to establish committees so residents could participate in community government again.
A former four-term councillor, St. Amour said he is open to suggestions about how to generate jobs - listing the opening of a ski hill, museum, grocery store, senior home or school as possible ideas - but said the main issue holding up development was the scarcity of available land.
McMaster, the hamlet's deputy mayor, said council was moving forward with a land acquisition application and he would continue to support it.
A self-described "moderator," McMaster said he is interested in developing tourism, adding that he wanted to improve river access for residents. He said he would also sit down with Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Dave Ramsay to talk about "a hit list" of tourism initiatives he wanted to see.
Leskiw, the lone council candidate to show up at the forum, said the hamlet needed to do a better job of promoting itself.
Enterprise, he said, has some attractive features for potential large-scale businesses like car dealerships or factories, as the hamlet straddles the territory's main highway and the land is also cheaper than in Hay River and other larger centres.
"If nobody knows we are here, nobody is going to move here," he said.
Many of the residents who volunteered questions and comments didn't think council was doing enough to engage or inform community members about its plans. The attendance at the forum was noted multiple times as an example of the disconnect between the people and the hamlet government.
With so much talk devoted towards luring businesses and jobs to Enterprise from outside the community, former mayor Winnie Cadieux said council needed to remember it also had a duty to make current residents a priority.
Every candidate said they saw a need for increased public consultation and transparency, specifically when it came to discussions about the hamlet's land plan.
Leskiw and Lalonde both suggested public meetings be held every few months to keep the community appraised of what was happening.
Lalonde got the biggest rise of the evening when he proposed the installation of a complaint box where residents could anonymously submit grievances they had with council's actions.
Based on the tone of the evening, forum moderator Kevin Wallington, a Hay River town councillor, responded: "Make it big."
Three council seats will be up for grabs in the Dec. 12 election. McMaster and Lalonde are also running for council seats.
