2012-10-27 AWA Wilderness & Wildlife Defenders: Upcoming SSRP Public Consultation Sessions

The second region to undergo a planning process under the provisions of the Land Use Framework will be the South Saskatchewan watershed. This process is now entering the Public Consultation phase, and 20 consultation sessions have been scheduled for communities throughout the region, plus Red Deer and Edmonton. AWA strongly encourages all members and supporters to come out to a session to help ensure that a voice for wilderness is heard in this important process that is expected to shape land use policy in Alberta for years to come.

The South Saskatchewan Regional Plan

As part of the province's Land Use Framework process, the province was divided into seven regions. Each of these regions is to undergo a regional planning process. In 2009-2010, a hand-selected Regional Advisory Council (RAC) met to draw up its recommendations for a South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP). These recommendations were published in March 2011.

Following this there was a period during which the Alberta public was invited to review and make comments on the recommendations. Shortly before the April 30 deadline, AWA sent out an action alert informing supporters about this opportunity. At that time, we pointed out that the public consultation phase, originally planned for 2011, had not yet taken place.

As of yesterday, the Alberta government has finally announced this public consultation phase. There are 20 public consultation sessions scheduled to be held in communities throughout the South Saskatchewan watershed, plus Red Deer and Edmonton, during November and early December. A schedule for these sessions follows below.

Upcoming Public Consultation Sessions: Your Input Needed!

We strongly encourage all members and supporters to attend one of these sessions if they are able to do so. AWA has been hearing time and again from Government of Alberta officials that many of the regulations and policies that we would like to see enacted will be addressed in the SSRP and other regional plans. It is therefore vital that the government gets these plans right, so that Alberta is not left with wide-reaching but inadequate legislation. Your voice and input will be an important part of this verification.

AWA will be present at as many of these sessions as our capacity allows. We also wrote to the Alberta government in January to provide our comments on the recommendations made by the South Saskatchewan RAC. Our intent was to provide comments to strengthen the planning process and help it to meet the clearly expressed wishes of Albertans.

AWA's comments on the draft recommendations can be found on our website.

Act Now!

The Scheduled SSRP Public Consultation Sessions are:

• Cardston
  November 6
  Cardston and District Seniors Centre
  260 First Street West
• Red Deer
  November 6
  Sheraton Red Deer Hotel
  3310 - 50 Avenue
• Taber
  November 7
  Heritage Inn
  4830 - 46 Avenue (Hwy 3)
• Vulcan
  November 8
  Legion Hall
  240 Sinclair Road
• Calgary
  November 13
  Radisson Hotel Calgary Airport
  2120 - 16 Avenue Northeast
• Edmonton
  November 15
  Ramada Conference Centre
  11834 Kingsway Avenue
• Airdrie
  November 20
  Best Western Regency Inn
  121 Edmonton Trail Southeast
• Pincher Creek
  November 20
  Heritage Inn Hotel and Convention Centre
  919 Waterton Avenue
• Canmore
  November 21
  Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre
  511 Bow Valley Trail
• Milk River
  November 21
  Heritage Hall
  213 Main Street
• Cochrane
  November 22
  The Ranchehouse
  101 Ranchehouse Road
• Brooks
  November 22
  Lakeside Leisure Hall, Flexhall
  111 Fourth Avenue West
• Claresholm
  November 27
  Claresholm Community Centre, North Hall
  5940 - 59 Avenue West
• Okotoks
  November 28
  Foothills Community Centre
  4, 204 Community Way
• Strathmore
  November 29
  Strathmore Centennial Civic Centre
  120 Brent Boulevard
• Drumheller
  December 4
  Canalta Jurassic
  1103 Highway 9 South
• Crowsnest Pass
  December 4
  Elks Hall
  2025 - 129 Street
  Blairmore
• Medicine Hat
  December 5
  Medicine Hat Lodge
  1051 Ross Glen Drive South East
• Foremost
  December 5
  Foremost Community Hall
  802 First Avenue West
• Lethbridge
  December 6
  Coast Lethbridge Hotel
  526 Magrath Drive South

All sessions run from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.

A PDF poster displaying the consultation schedule can also be downloaded here.