Scott Cyr: My first Year

MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake, Scott Cyr says it’s been an honour serving the region for the past year. As a member of the Official Opposition, Cyr has had a lot of battles at the Legislative to start of his term serving the people; but the MLA says every late night and early morning was worth it to know he was the voice of the region.

“It is a true honour to be chosen by the Bonnyville-Cold Lake residents to represent them in the house.” Cyr was elected just over a year ago, on May 5th, 2015, in an early election called by Progressive Conservation (PC) party.  A member of the Wildrose Party and accountant by trade, Cyr hadn’t held an elected office prior to his win. “When you look at the amount of need in our area, I have some challenges to move forward with. Sitting down and working through them with the local businesses, residents and interest groups is something that I feel is a job for the MLA. I’ve felt welcomed by all groups.” Cyr is one of only 22 Wildrose representatives in the Legislature. The majority NDP have 54, PCs 9, Liberal & Alberta 1 each. 

I have been a strong advocate for the people’s voice in the House. – Scott Cyr MLA Bonnyville-Cold Lake

“It’s been a balancing act, that’s for sure,” As a family man, Cyr is happy for a break from sessions, is excited for summer to begin. “I am looking forward to spending more time over the summer with my kids. I will say your first year, you need to really get out to the groups and see what their needs are.” Cyr spent a lot of time at local schools, hospitals, seniors centres, health care facilities, and emergency services centres determining what can and should be done for these groups. At times he was able to bring the family to events and community functions.  As a father of two young girls, Amelia (10) & Charlotte (6), Cyr plans to bring the girls along to community events with him and wife Megan. Cyr says his family has been very understanding of the importance of his role as MLA. “Finding more time with the family is a summer plan for sure!”

This summer the Cyr’s will travel to British Columbia to visit relatives, as well as hit up as many exciting local events as they can. “Most of the summer will be spent at local events and participating in as many as we can. My two little girls love going out to the different fish fries, sporting events, and celebrations.”  Cyr says he’s never been more active, “I look forward to spending time with [my kids] at all the events. My oldest is very fond of the different rodeo events and my youngest loves the interactive events, like reading and writing. We can find something for everyone in the riding, we just have to look on Lakeland Connect for the events!”

Over the last year Cyr has been working on bringing a High-load Corridor to the Lakeland, “I was able to work with the local businesses and with the Transportation Minister to resolve that and now we have a High-load Corridor.” Highway 28 is a major concern for the MLA, who ran on a platform that he would fight for improvements to the roadway, “I’ve been working with the Alberta Government to put that as a priority. If you’ve traveled that Highway recently, you’ll see that a lot of work has been done. Always we can do more, but it’s good to see the Government is addressing issues on Highway 28.”

Two huge Bills went through the House that Cyr strongly opposed, Bill 6: the Farm Bill and the Carbon Tax. “The Farm Bill was very controversial, I had to call an emergency Town Hall Meetings within the riding to make sure people were able to get their voices heard and to me quickly. This legislation has gone through the House so fast it is hard to get out there and get all the opinions and all the information I need.” With the rush on both pieces of legislation Cyr says the majority government did a disservice to the people by not adequately listening to their voice. The Carbon Tax came as a surprise, “that wasn’t in the NDP platform,” explains Cyr. “It’s going to bring hardship on our constituents, during a time when we’ve got no activity happening in the area.”

It concerns me that we’re looking at a slow down and the Government is looking to take more out of our pockets. – Scott Cyr MLA Bonnyville-Cold Lake

For his second year, Cyr says he’ll continue to be a voice of the people, “I will continue to advocate for jobs. It’s one of the biggest concerns we have in the riding, we have such a slow-down. Trying to find people to invest in Bonnyville-Cold Lake is my biggest priority. People are hard working, they just want to provide for their families and they’re just not giving the opportunity.”

I’m working as hard as I can to make sure the NDP Government sees us up in the North. – Scott Cyr MLA Bonnyville-Cold Lake