While the position of Mayor for the Municipality of Ste. Rose has been acclaimed by incumbent Robert Brunel, there is still a race for the four council spots, with seven candidates on the ballot.
Last night, the Parkland Chamber of Commerce held a Municipal Election Forum in Ste. Rose, to give the candidates an opportunity to answer questions submitted by the public. Five of the seven council candidates made it to the event, with Ivan Worrall, Shari Shankaruk, Noel Labelle, Steven Hopfner, and Joey Frobisher in attendance.
The questions focused on a variety of topics including the growth and maintenance of recreational activities and facilities in the community, attracting employees to the community, and keeping youth engaged in community activities.
One topic that came up on multiple occasions was attracting healthcare workers and retaining the ones that are already in the community. Candidates talked about recruitment, incentivizing students to go into the industry and return to the community once they've completed school, and the potential for a healthcare aid program as a part of the grade 12 curriculum.
The forum was live-streamed to the Parkland Chamber of Commerce Facebook Page, and the full video is available here.
The candidates for council are:
- Darrel Deslauriers
- Joey Frobisher
- Steven Hopfner (Incumbent)
- Robert Killam
- Noel Labelle (Incumbent)
- Shari Shankaruk (Incumbent)
- Ivan Worrall (Incumbent)
Voting on October 26th will take place at the Ste. Rose Community Hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
