Remarks to Annual General
Meeting, Edmonton Southeast
Constituency Association
by
David Kilgour, M.P., Edmonton
Southeast
Mill Woods Campus, Grant
MacEwan Community College,
Edmonton
February 13, 1999
Friends,
I’d
like to express my thanks
to all of you here this
morning, as well as to others
who have worked hard to
build this association,
on committees etc., but
couldn’t be here. Special
thanks to the directors
and members of the executive,
and especially to Amy Gerlock,
who has worked skilfully as President. Things have
not always been easy for
Amy, and I thank her for
hanging in.
It
has been a challenge to
take on the responsibilities
of Secretary of State for
Latin America and Africa
while still providing hopefully
good service and representation
to the residents of Edmonton
Southeast. Helping to achieve
that balance have been two
very capable constituency
assistants, Sukhbir Lalli
and Suzanne Smith. As my
eyes and ears in the constituency,
they answer between 35 and
50 phone calls a day. Special
thanks to Jane Swinton-Kibbins,
who we were all sorry to
see leave after eight years,
although her new role as
a mother appears to make
her very happy. I again
acknowledge the work provided
over the summer by Sophie
Mathew and Praby Singh.
They not only helped constituents
visiting the office with
casework, but helped to
complete an extensive survey.
That survey helped to get
into my head what was then
really on the minds of southeast
Edmonton residents. During
part of it, I was able to
call on a number of homes
in the constituency in person,
and hear first-hand what
people had to say.
Assisting
Constituents
The
most satisfying aspect of
this job is helping individuals,
especially those caught
between cracks in the system.
Every year many people seek
my help whether by visits
to the office, phone calls,
or letters. In calendar
1998, 2,929 letters of response
were sent from the Edmonton
office and Ottawa offices
combined. In the Edmonton
office, I had 280 appointments.
These figures do not include
meetings between constituents
and my staff. Let me tell
you I know the airports
very well, with 19 return
trips between Edmonton and
Ottawa in 1998.
Thank
you to those who took time
to write or phone with opinions
on the issues of the day.
While it is not always possible
to please everyone, I make
it a practice to take every
opportunity to convey your
views to my cabinet and
caucus colleagues and other
Ottawa officials.
My
role as Secretary of State
for Latin America and Africa
– including the Caribbean
– has kept me very
busy and often taken me
away from Canada. I’ve
attempted to ensure that
what I do is useful to people
at home. Happily, I have
been able to open doors
abroad for some Alberta
businesses seeking to enter
global markets. This should
lead to new job opportunities
for Albertans. Establishing
links between institutions
such as Grant MacEwan and
the University of Alberta
and counterparts abroad
is also providing new advantages
for Edmontonians.
Dialogue
on Drugs
Recently,
I’ve been asked to
play an envoy role in the
Hemispheric Foreign Ministers’
Dialogue on Drugs launched
in January by Foreign Affairs
Minister Lloyd Axworthy.
The scourge of illicit drugs
has troubled me for many
years, since my days as
a prosecutor and defence
counsel in the 1970s. It
contributes to a lot of
crime right here in Mill
Woods and throughout the
hemisphere and the globe.
Our initiative aims to combat
the drug problem by creating
political will to deal with
drugs as a human security
concern. As a foreign ministry
official in Ecuador told
me recently, "Drugs
not only kill people, but
also institutions."
He was referring to the
political and judicial corruption
through which drug cartels
seek to take over institutions
of government.
Here
at home, I recently asked
a class of about 25 grade
9 students if they know
anyone involved with illegal
drugs. About half the hands
in the class went up. A
public school administrator
later confirmed that drugs
are getting back into schools
across our city. We cannot
deal with the drug problem
in a vacuum; it is international
in scope. We need to recognize
that the problem is complex
– that there are economic
reasons that subsistent
farmers in the Andes are
induced to grow the coca
leaves that produce cocaine.
Trafficking in small firearms
has been aggravated by the
drug trade, and the lives
of many people have been
threatened or lost. I believe
that the countries of the
hemisphere can share knowledge
about drug prevention and
rehabilitation programs
that work well. We can and
must work together to combat
this problem more effectively.
In
closing, the coming year
is an important one for
our constituency association.
I rely on all of you to
help me to represent southeast
Edmontonians. They are the
reason that I am a Member
of Parliament, and their
interests must be foremost
in whatever I do and whatever
we do as an association.
I very much look forward
to working with the new
executive.
Thank
you.
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