MLA Rick Strankman finds it interesting to be starting his second term, and be known as one of the seasoned veterans.
    The first session of the Alberta Legislature since the election of the new NDP government closed on Thursday, June 25. It was an interesting session as the first new government in over four decades began to get its sea legs.
    “The PC Government, when they were in power, had more finesse and experience, as opposed to this party in power,” said Strankman. “Part of the reason for the small cabinet is the lack of expertise, but hopefully they will get a chance to get up to speed.”
    I am one of a few seasoned veterans in there, and it is sure not something I expected to have as a moniker.”
 The session began with the passing of Bill 1, An Act to Renew Democracy in Alberta. The bill that bans corporate and union donations was passed with support from the government and opposition.  Furthermore, Premier Rachel Notley and opposition leader Brian Jean proposed a special committee to review other aspects of democratic renewal.
    While there was support from both sides of the Legislature, Strankman is cautious.
    “Personally I feel there is another shoe yet to fall, whether there is something missed or not covered in the legislation. We did try to bring some small amendments, but it is the nature of the chamber. But what it comes down to is any improvement is good.”
    “In the end, Wildrose would vote with the government on some issues, but we would also try and bring some amendments forward to try to improve the legislation. I was pleased they brought it forward, if there is going to be abuses we’ll learn that down the road.
    After spending the bulk of his first term as tourism critic, Strankman is now agriculture critic. He sees there could be some synergies in this role.
    “I am hoping to work with Oneil Carlier (Agriculture minister) to the best of my ability on what lines we can find agreeable, and I am hoping I can direct some of the points going forward,” he said.
He says there are still many issues where the government and opposition do clash.
    “Speaking to the general tone of the government, when it came to the minimum wage and some of this taxation, that is what they said they are going to do, so that’s what they are going to do. They maintain they were elected by the people… whether you interpret it as a vote against the conservative movement or a vote for the NDP…they are the party in power,” he said.
    “Albertans will see in the next four years, the term of this government what they do and don’t do through the development of the province and if that leads to creating a debt, which I believe it will, and the majority of the province are accepting of that debt, and that leads to the re-election of the government, there isn’t anything that can be done. If there are those who want to form a conservative style of government such as evoked when Ralph Klein was elected to minimize the debt going forward, we’ll see how that plays out.”

Dan and Nikki Isley wanted to do something a little different for their son’s birthday this year.
    Ethan, who turned one on June 25, has Spina Bifida, and when his parents Dan and Nikki found this out before he was born, they chose to travel to the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital to have an utero surgery performed. Nikki said this surgery was not offered in Canada.
    “In Canada they close the back after he (would) be born, but doing it in utero is starting to gain some attraction in the medical field (because) it has better outcomes,” she said continuing by saying that Ethan is not paralyzed and he is moving his legs good and they believe he will walk.
    “We feel it was a good decision, and that he was one of the good outcomes,” she said.
    When the couple was in Philadelphia, they were able to stay at the Ronald McDonald Children’s House. To celebrate Ethan’s first birthday, the family wanted to give back, but in a more local perspective, Nikki explained.
    “A lot of stuff has happened in the last year, he has been in and out of the hospital, so we just decided we wanted to give back a little bit in a small way. To honour his first birthday, we are making up 23 gift baskets for the families that are staying at the (Southern Alberta) Ronald McDonald House in Calgary. We thought it would be nice to do something close to home,” she said.
    She told The Mail that the family decided to make the gift baskets a little bigger than what they could do on their own and therefore opened it up to others who may want to help.
    “We decided to open it up to the public and get donations. They have so far come together very nicely,” she said.
    Nikki said the family is still accepting donations for the baskets which can include: toiletries, travel size board games, playing cards, crosswords/sudoku’s and socks or slippers. She also said cash donations will be accepted to help purchase fresh fruit and snacks and to help purchase gift cards for the families to go to a restaurant or to get gas for travelling.
    Nikki said they will be accepting donations for the next couple of weeks until the baskets are full. Once full, the Isley family will deliver the baskets to Ronald McDonald  House in Calgary.
    To donate items for the baskets visit Ethan’s Journey on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ethanisleysjourney or call Nikki at 403-820-1330.