The Infamous Ministerial Position's Redeemer?

The latest in the long line of Ministers of Municipal Affairs is perfectly positioned politically to connect with this conservative constituency.  But it’s going to take more than announcements to truly connect.  If there is to be a redeemer for this infamous ministerial position, it might just be Danielle Larivee.

​Larivee, recently minted Minister of Municipal Affairs, becomes the sixth Minister of Municipal Affairs since the 2013 Floods, and the latest to inherit the DRP Disaster.  That is a new boss every 4.5 months, or 19 weeks.  Marginally longer than the average probationary period for a job at Tim Horton's.

Newly appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs Danielle Larivee, who made an announcement in High River this morning about fixing the many issues still unresolved after the 2013 Floods, stands to the right of Premier Rachel Notley.  On Notley's left is the most recent victim of the infamous ministerial position, Deron Bilous.

Following the provincial election in the spring we were expecting the NDP to appoint a saviour for the flood victims who would oversee DRP’s repairs and the completion of mitigation projects.  Apparently the title Minister of Municipal Affairs is filled with bad joo joo, and Deron Bilous was shifted out of the job, just like his four predecessors.

It’s this premonition I am most worried about.  Thankfully Minister Larivee is actively combatting those bad omens.

Today she announced $30 million in funding for the various mitigation projects on the Highwood River, the most significant of which is the southwest berm, a project High River Mayor Craig Snodgrass has deemed of the utmost importance.  In addition, she has also committed to studying upstream and downstream mitigation to prevent further disasters.  The Deltares reports have been used to reaffirm that diversion is not the best option, and represents a good decision and initiative started by the previous PC Government.

Minister Larivee has also stated a number of fixes to the DRP program.  One of those fixes was that every file that was paid a little too much (likely from the 90% advance promised by Jim Prentice) will be able to keep that money if it was under $5000.  For those who were given over $5000 too much, other arrangements need to be made.  Larivee also said she was looking for complete closure of all DRP files by June 20, 2016.  She indicated that DRP will take “a proactive approach to establishing contact with” the people whose files have remained inactive, likely because the applicant isn’t calling the province back.  There are plenty of reasons why they wouldn’t call the province back, all of them legitimate, so it is great to hear that the government will seek them out rather than waiting for contact themselves.  This should also allay fears that DRP will close files prematurely, and show care, consideration and compassion for the remaining applicants.

Much of this is good news.  It means her hands are on the files, and she is actively seeking completion in this area of her ministry.  I feel the need to apply a bit of pressure, as she is after all the sixth person tasked with this.  To be clear, after having talked with Minister Larivee briefly, she is very aware that nobody wants yet another person in charge, and she wants to be the one to finish the job.  That in and of itself is a huge plus, and if she gets it done, she could be considered the redeemer of that infamous ministerial position's bad joo joo.

The pressure has to be on three issues.

1. Minister Larivee committed to closing files, but as she was asked by staff of the High River Times and as I have asked before, the word “closed” is not the same as “fully funded”.  She admitted today to not being briefed on the difference in definitions.  I assert that in order to be able to fulfill her June 20, 2016 deadline, she needs to know exactly what those definitions are, and not just be briefed on them.  Briefings have been shown to fall short of fact, and as a result former Ministers have had their ability to oversee the DRP limited.
2. Minister Larivee did not commit to an independent review of the DRP program, and in fact led people at the announcement today to believe that she has no intention of going down that road.  That is dangerous territory, because few Albertans are going to trust the reports she has received, as they were all commissioned by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, the office in charge of DRP.  That would be like an employee conducting their own employee review.  In order for the recommendations to be trustworthy in the eyes of Albertans, including the 91% of Alberta Urban Municipalities who voted to call for this inquiry, such recommendations must come from a study that is entirely independent of the AEMA, and maybe even the Ministry itself.
3. Finally, today was yet another announcement.  After every shuffle, whether it is because somebody quits to run for a leadership, a Wildrose caucus defects to the PCs, or a new Ministry of Economic Development causes the shuffle, the new Minister comes out to High River with an announcement.  High Riverites cannot be faulted for demanding more than an announcement.  They want action.  $30 million for flood mitigation is action.  Helping flood victims close this chapter of their lives is action.  This was a great announcement from Minister Larivee, but now the pressure must be placed on her to ensure she converts it to action, and that she is directly involved throughout the process.

Time will tell how serious Minister Larivee is about getting this job done.  The metric to be watching for is how hands-on she remains.  Her predecessor didn’t.  Maybe Larivee can rebuild some bridges, both literally and figuratively, and while she’s at it, make connections between the NDP Government and people out here in conservative country.

We want to trust our government.  We need a reason to.  Minister Larivee is perfectly positioned to give us that reason.  The Ministry of Municipal Affairs is in big need of redeeming.  So I’m watching.

​And I’m hoping.