One of the longest serving members of the Alberta Tory caucus says the pressing issues facing the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre constituency have to do with policing, senior care facilities and aging road and bridge infrastructure.
MLA Ty Lund, Progressive Conservative incumbent, said the riding is in dire need of long-term care and assisted living facilities for seniors.
“Rocky, Sundre and Rimbey are desperately in need of more spaces,” Lund said, adding that Rimbey may get a new facility in the next year or two.
But the aging municipal infrastructure in the towns and villages are also a top concern for Lund.
“We still have a lot of infrastructure that is getting old and needs to be replaced very soon and there is going to big expenditures for the municipalities,” Lund said.
The shortage of RCMP man-power, especially in the large constituency is also an issue that needs to be dealt with, according to Lund.
“This is a very big area and particularly with the traffic on the highways, there seems to be a need for more patrols,” he said.
Lund, 73, has been an MLA since March 1983. He says he is running again because he knows the area, people and industries and has a proven track record. For 12 years Lund has served as a minister in the areas of forestry and parks, infrastructure and transportation, agriculture and rural development and government services.
Before entering provincial politics, Lund served in municipal politics for 10 years and was on the executive of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) for three years.
He runs a mixed farm south of Alhambra with his brother. The farm, over 100 years old, was homesteaded by Lund’s grandfather. The family originated in South Dakota and after a severe drought at the turn century, they moved to Canada.
jjones@www.reddeeradvocate.com