Cyr Discusses HWY 28 with Cold Lake Council

MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake, Scott Cyr, met with Cold Lake City Council recently as a way to introduce himself to the Council and discuss some hot topics with the City; including the Provincial Budget, particularly funding for Highway 28.

Mayor of Cold Lake, Craig Copeland, says the City was hoping for more information on the Highway 28 project from  Cyr. “He didn’t have any new information for us,” explains Copeland which has left the City speculating where funding will be focused, “likely Red Water, where there are curves, that’s getting work done right now.”

Mayor Copeland requested that Cyr look into whether funding for the Highway is new money or if there was political trickery involved in the funding announcement. “I asked if Cyr’s Wildrose party could look if that’s money that was dedicated in 2014 by the PC’s Budget and if we’re just seeing the work now. So even though it was in the Provincial Budget for 2015, it might not be anything new and nothing like a twinning between Cold Lake and Bonnyville or passing lanes.”

The Mayor is ever-hopeful that work will be done on the highway in our region, “at least it got mentioned, that’s a start.”

MLA Cyr spoke to Council regarding meeting Transportation Minister, Brian Mason, and reported to the City that Minister Mason plans to have a list of infrastructure projects in the Province done up and ranked on their importance, something Mayor Copeland referred to as, “a first.” It would be a document that the public would have access to, the Mayor was thrown back by that announcement, “I would be surprised if the government goes that way. Usually, they like to hold things to their chest.”

Cyr  was not able to give City Council a timeline on when more specific information regarding Provincial spending on Highway 28 would be announced.