Joe McWilliams
Lakeside Leader

Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Doug Schweitzer was in Slave Lake on Sept. 11. It was one stop in a tour of the province to talk to people about rural crime and other related topics.

Some of the meetings on the tour are the ‘town hall’ type, with members of the public invited. This wasn’t one of those; Schweitzer met with municipal and other leaders from the area in a closed session at the Legacy Centre. Presumably he heard from town and M.D. reps about the frustrations arising from theft from industrial properties and farms.

Schweitzer told The Leader after the meeting the government is “fully committed” to tackling rural crime. That commitment includes hiring 50 more prosecutors and “expanding drug treatment capacity,” he said.

Schweitzer also said “many areas in our justice system are inefficient,” and the plan is to review and improve. Prior to the Slave Lake visit Schweitzer hosted a town hall meeting in Athabasca, with about 300 people in attendance.

Another one was planned for that night in Fairview. He said he was about a third of the way through his tour of the province and is getting “lots of good feedback.”

M.D. Reeve Murray Kerik – as skeptical as anybody when it comes to provincial (or federal) politicians – says he received a good impression of the minister and what he said.

“It looks like they’re honestly trying to figure out some solutions,” he says. “I’m optimistic.”

“It was quite good,” adds Slave Lake Mayor Tyler Warman. “He understands his ministry and is passionate about it.”