Alberta Tories mend fences with AUMA over pork-barrel comment
EDMONTON — The feud is over and relations are looking sunny-side up between the Alberta government and the group that speaks for municipal politicians.
Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths said in an interview Wednesday that he has patched things up with Linda Sloan, head of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
The Progressive Conservative caucus had planned to boycott an AUMA breakfast meeting Thursday in Edmonton until Sloan retracted the comments and apologized.
Griffiths said they will go after all because Sloan told him late Tuesday night she never made the disparaging comments about the government attributed to her over the weekend in a local newspaper.
Sloan was quoted saying that the government funding plan was corrupted by pork-barrel politics, with money tied not to what you need but who you know amongst the Tories.
“Ms. Sloan indicated to me she never made any such comments,” said Griffiths. “I’m not going to get into an argument or discussion about that. I will be informing her shortly that we will be attending the breakfast.
“We’re going to proceed to build better communities.”
Sloan could not immediately be reached for comment.
Griffiths said government funding for municipalities has always been about needs set against set criteria and objectives.
He said Sloan told him she stood by published comments that the AUMA was not properly consulted prior to last week’s 2012-13 budget.
“We agreed to disagree on that,” he said.
Griffiths says he will ask Sloan to let him address Thursday’s meeting to clear the air.
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