Linda Cox,
Mayor, Town of High Prairie
Following is a portion of Town of High Prairie Mayor Linda Cox’s report to council for Sept. 21 to Oct. 18:
Northern Alberta Mayors & Reeves

Oct. 7, I attended the NAMR Caucus meeting in Edmonton. Minister of Municipal Affairs Danielle Larivee, was in attendance to answer questions we had.
There was discussion on the Municipal Sustainability Funding, with the answer being that the province does not have an answer yet whether the program will continue and if so, how much the grant funding would be. This makes it extremely difficult to prepare the 2017 budget as council does not know the total revenue, if any, to expect from the government.
The new chair of the Northern Alberta Development Council is Debbie Jabbour, the MLA from Peace River. This is a good choice as she will continue the northern focus of NADC.
Many municipalities had questions on the Inter-municipal Collaboration Framework that the provincial government is requiring under the revised Municipal Government Act. Further regulations are coming and these will list the topics that must be discussed. i.e. recreation, fire services, planning, etc.
Mountain pine beetle update

We also had an update on the pine beetle infestation. The federal government has not been as active in control of the beetle as the province has been, with the result that 155,000 acres of Jasper National Park is completely dead and is acting as a reservoir of further infection in the Hinton-Edson area.
Since the pine beetle is an invasive species, we agreed to send a strongly worded letter to the federal government asking for them to take action on this issue.
Northern Alberta Elected Leaders

Oct. 14, I attended the NAEL meeting, in Grande Prairie. NAEL meets four times per year. It is an opportunity to meet with other northwestern mayors and reeves to discuss issues that are of concern.
We received a response from Minister of Municipal Affairs Danielle Larivee, with respect to our concerns regarding regular and timely communications between Municipal Affairs and our northwest municipalities. Several municipalities raised concerns such as:
* Meeting being cancelled with no follow-up to reschedule;
* Lack of timely responses to letter and email requests; and
* Limited communication and coordination around invitations to meet with rural and urban elected leaders when ministers are visiting communities.
Larivee will take our concerns forward to her colleagues with a view to improving communication.
Civil Forfeiture Grant

Also discussed at the NAEL meeting Oct. 14, was the Civil Forfeiture Grant funding application deadline.
Town council will apply again for this grant for the Enhanced Policing Program.
And, the impact of the Caribou Recovery Initiative on municipalities whose industries are in identified woodland caribou habitat, and MSI funding.