Maureen Kubinec says she is thoroughly enjoying her role as the new MLA for Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock.
Speaking after the Alberta Legislature finished its fall session on Dec. 6, Kubinec said the experience since she was elected on April 23 has been very interesting.
“I have to say it was a real learning experience for me,” she said.
In addition, she said being a member of the governing party added to her sense of excitement, as she was able to help pass 10 pieces of legislation that she said will benefit Albertans now and into the future.
Having served as an elected official for several years at the school division and county level before being elected to provincial office, Kubinec was already familiar with how the process works, at least at a general level.
However, once on the floor of the Legislature, she said things were a bit different.
“It’s a bit more passionate, shall we say, and at times rather raucous,” she said, but added there are times when things are considerably more civil.
“The Speaker tries hard to maintain that, but when you get 87 people in a room, who are all passionate about their causes, sometimes emotions rise.”
Although new MLAs are not usually very active in terms of speaking during legislative debates, Kubinec said there was a concerted effort to give all new MLAs a chance to have their voices heard.
“They were very good about involving all of the new people and asking us to put forward questions that were relevant to our constituencies,” she said.
She took advantage of that opportunity to ask two questions of major significance to the riding.
One of those concerned the Cardiff overpass along Highway 2 south of Morinville.
The other dealt with getting a second surgical unit for the Westlock hospital.
The issue with the surgical unit at the hospital arose again shortly after the election, and dates back to about 2009, she said. At that time, there were plans for a second unit to be added to the hospital.
“Everything was ready to go, plans were made, and then everything went into the new Alberta Health Services and it kind of got shelved,” she said.
So, her question was about bringing the issue back to the forefront in an attempt to get the project restarted.
“We still feel there’s a real need for it,” Kubinec said, adding wait times for some procedures and some doctors are long because there simply is not enough space.
One task she said she has coming up is the chance to introduce her own piece of legislation by way of a private member’s bill — Kubinec said she’s been granted the privilege of bringing forward Bill 201 in the spring sitting.
Although she did not want to elaborate on what the bill will deal with, she did say she knows what she wants to achieve.
“I’m trying to pick one that I think has a good chance of succeeding and will do some good work for Albertans,” she said.
Since the election, Kubinec said she feels she’s doing a good job in her new role, but stressed that’s not really up to her to decide.
“It would probably be for my constituents to judge how I’ve done,” she said.
Still, she said she feels she’s learned a lot in the short time since she was elected, and has enjoyed getting out to various functions to meet people and learn all she can.
“That’s probably the best part of the job,” she said. “That’s the good stuff of this job, to learn about the amazing people we have in this constituency who volunteer so much time and do a lot of good work.”
