(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Local politics

District of Lakeland Councillor resigns

Mar 10, 2022 | 5:00 PM

Citing a number of issues related to recent comments made by the Reeve, and stating they were false, a District of Lakeland Councillor has opted to resign.

Treena Alpine’s letter of notice was included with Wednesday’s council meeting agenda. In addition to her duties as councillor, McAlpine was also chair of a committee behind a proposed Environmental Stewardship Bylaw.

The bylaw, which included a number of measures to improve lake quality and preserve the shorelines, passed first reading last month and was on the agenda this week for second and third reading. An article published on Feb. 24 by paNOW, outlined the need for community consultation and also included comments from Reeve Walter Plessl.

Plessl described a number of concerns he had with the proposed bylaw and stated he planned to fight it. In her own letter, McAlpine claimed Plessl chose to use personal opinion and misinformation in an attempt to defeat the proposed bylaw.

“When members of the Bylaw Review Committee met for the first time in October of last year, the level of enthusiasm was palpable and contagious. It was a great feeling. We immediately set out to define potential areas of concern and it was decided that our number one priority needed to focus on strategies to improve lake water quality,” she said.

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In addition to concerns related to banning the use of aqua blasters, and issuing fines for those who fail to comply with the bylaw, Plessl also stated his belief that the steering committee was moving too fast and had not done sufficient homework.

McAlpine explained the committee met eight times before releasing the final draft of the bylaw and sought opinions from a wide variety of sources including the Water Security Agency, Saskatchewan Environment, the University of Saskatchewan Environmental Department, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the local Environmental Advisory Committee which includes four retired conservation officers serving as members.

“So I am going to make a very strong argument that we have done the homework, done the research and asked all the right questions. I would ask the Reeve what specifically has he done besides comment ‘Well, I don’t like it’. I’m sorry but ‘I don’t like it’ doesn’t cut it for me. Show us your homework, your research and ask some of your own questions and then tell us what it is you don’t like,” she said.

McAlpine explained in no way did she ever see this proposed Environmental Stewardship Bylaw as another level of bureaucracy or red tape, but rather as a blueprint to encourage responsible stewardship to protect the lakes.

“It’s unfortunate that some members of this council did not see it in the same light. It is easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize the efforts of others but the mark of a good leader is knowing when those efforts are worth standing up for. It is for that reason that I feel I am no longer able to work effectively in this environment and will be resigning my seat effective immediately,” she said.

In a follow up statement to paNOW, McAlpine said the real loser in this, are the district ratepayers who have now lost a councillor who “genuinely cared about those she represented”.

On Wednesday, the Environment Stewardship Bylaw passed, albeit with a few modifications. The use of aqua blasters for example will no longer be banned, but rather require a permit.

The byelection has been scheduled for July 2.

paNOW did attempt to reach out to Reeve Walter Plessl for further comment, but as of the publishing deadline, had not received a response.

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nigei.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell