About 75 constituents and members of the provincial and federal governments turned out last weekend for Banff-Cochrane MLA Ron Casey’s open house in what the former Canmore mayor described as a “nice social Saturday afternoon.”
Casey celebrated the grand opening of his constituency office located on Bow Valley Trail in Canmore by meeting with residents and encouraging others to visit the office if they seek information.
“Hopefully it will lead to more people coming in and just talking about issues,” Casey said. “If they want information or if they’re unclear about what’s happening with this government, they can take the opportunity to stop in and get some of the facts right.”
Wildrose MP Blake Richards, minister of transportation Ric McIvor, Reeve for MD of Bighorn Dene Cooper and current Canmore Mayor John Borrowman were some of the guests present at the open house, however, the bulk of attendees represented other members of the community.
“I was impressed with how many constituents we had come out,” said Lesley Bannister, constituency assistant for Casey. “It was the people who are accessing the services here that came and participated.”
Bannister also pointed out that although roughly 90 per cent of the inquiries the office has received have been submitted by phone or email, the number of people visiting the office has been increasing and is encouraged.
“I think it’s sometimes easier for people to come in because they may be looking for information and they might not have access to email or websites,” she said. “It’s easier for them to get physical materials as they come into Ron’s office.
“If they are looking to connect with Ron, set up a meeting or access a minister, then it’s equally effective to email or phone,” she added.
Since the last election, the rookie MLA, who is also chair of the rural caucus, said he’s had to make adjustments from his previous position as mayor, but the experience has also helped him in other areas.
“It’s a steep learning curve,” Casey said about the MLA position. “Just getting the process in the legislation and trying to figure that out because it’s so different from municipal.
“Reading and dealing with legislation, I have a fair bit of experience with that at the municipal level, but it’s more the process and the internal process,” he added.
When the legislature is not in session, the MLA said that is when many of the more local issues can be addressed, be they in person, email or over the phone. He also pointed out he would like to have more sessions in the Cochrane part of the constituency so residents have an opportunity to voice their own issues.
“When you’re in session you’re dealing with legislation day after day,” he explained. “Dealing with side issues that aren’t related to that legislation is sometimes tough because the ministers in particular are busy during that period.
“When we’re not in session we can likely move a lot of those issues a little quicker,” he added.
Casey’s office is located at 109 – 1205 Bow Valley Tr.
