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The Rotary Club of Medicine Hat was pleased to welcome Mr Robert Wanner, MLA to the podium this afternoon, to speak about his experience in the last election, first being elected as the representative of Medicine Hat for the New Democratic Party, and then being chosen as the Speaker of the House. Bob was welcomed by President Uwe Krickhahn, and introduced by his chief of staff Alex McCuaig (a former reporter for the Medicine Hat News). Alec related a history of how Bob and his paths had crossed paths over the decades in this community, and how they came together with the last election. Bob spoke about being a representative for all, how the victory and the appointment as speaker, wasn't exactly in his or his spouse's retirement plans and he's having a tremendous, life changing experience in the role. Medicine Hat will always be home, 2 of his 4 children and more than half his 11 grandchildren still call Medicine Hat home and it is that service to his family, his community and the citizens in general that get him through the tough times. He showed a short series of slides, illustrating the recovering strength of the Alberta economy and that although the Province has been through some tough times over the past few years, population and net migration to the province means is still a preferred destination for citizens. Unemployment is slowly declining and the forecast for the GDP is positive and perhaps leading the country. He talked about the history of this corner of the province, back to the days of Captain Palliser and how the citizens have created great value from what that explorer saw as very little. Natural resources (oil and gas, agriculture and manufacturing) were a key then, and Bob sees a different set as keys to the future. .JPG) Bob also spoke of the changes in the economy, the shift to renewable energy and once again after a century of success with oil and gas, our solar, wind and geothermal energy may provide significant natural resource opportunities. He envisions the Medicine Hat College with the opportunity to be a Center of Excellence, due to our proximity to this resource. He spoke about the recent upgrades to the high voltage electrical transmission system, which were done under the previous government specifically to provide opportunities for these new resources. Current studies indicate almost 3,000 MWH of sustainable electricity within one hour of Medicine Hat, which will work in tandem with the gas fired generation in this area, both to meet peak loads and provide secure backup for variations in the sustainable supply. There were a number of questions asked and answered and President Uwe thanked Bob and his staff for attending. |
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