MLA Scott Cyr says Regional Waterline Needs to be a Top Priority

The MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake, Scott Cyr, hopes key regional issues are not overlooked by the provincial government. MLA Cyr says the waterline from Cold Lake to Bonnyville is a top priority of his.

“The fact is, clean water for everybody is a necessity,” explains Cyr, “Cold Lake water has been deemed the regional water source, so we need to be pressing the government on getting an engineering study done, so we can get an understanding of how much [the waterline] is going to cost. And get this project moving forward.”

“We have completed studies on whether it will impact the lake. My understanding, is the studies have shown that it’s not going to impact the lake. The concern that everybody’s going to have is, we don’t want to harm any of our water sources. Since, we established that it’s not going to, this is something that we need to move forward with,” states Cyr.

As for the Water for Life Program, it can be unreliable, explains Cyr, “it only has so much money put into it. A poor analogy, it’s like a bucket, they pour money out of it and not back in. So, we’re waiting for the bucket to be refilled. We have to make sure that our project is the next one that comes out of the program.”

Cyr has been doing his part to get regional issues in the spotlight, “I brought this up to the Transportation Minister, again.” The dreaded price of oil doesn’t help the ensure vital programs, like Water for Life have the necessary funding. “At $40/barrel oil, which needs to be a reality to this situation. [The government] is probably going to be cutting back on spending; however I don’t think it’s unreasonable for us to be establishing what it’s going to cost to get the [waterline] and go from there.