Chance to scrutinize Bill 19
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People opposing a controversial new bill are planning a series of information meetings over the next few days.
Infrastructure minister Jack Hayden, MLA for Drumheller-Stettler, has introduced a government bill that makes it easier for the province to acquire land to building transportation and utility corridors.
If passed, the new legislation — the Land Assembly Project Area Act — would facilitate construction of major projects while ensuring fair treatment of affected landowners, Hayden said in a prepared statement issued on March 2, the day the Bill 19 was introduced in the Legislature.
Such acquisitions are an essential aspect of growth, says Transportation minisiter Luke Ouellette, MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake. Projects such as the ring roads around major cities could not be completed had someone not had the foresight to tie up the land necessary for their construction, said Ouellette.
But members of the Alberta Green party have now launched a campaign to kill Bill 19.
Green leader Joe Anglin calls it a draconian attempt to streamline the process of expropriating private property.
Anglin has now set up a series of meetings in which he will present his take on the bill and invite public presentations.
Meetings started on Tuesday in Warburg. Another meeting has been set for the Scout Hall in Ponoka at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 14. Additional meetings are being held in Peace River on March 18 and in Grimshaw on March 19.
