Politics is mainly about business, and maybe a little bit about having fun - some of the time. Recently Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland and MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake Genia Leskiw have been having just that.
It started at the Cold Lake all-candidates forum on Oct. 6 when Copeland told the 300-some audience that he was going to move in to the MLA's basement to press forward the City's lobby to the province for change. The Bonnyville Nouvelle reported the remark made during Copeland's speech - as an indicator of the type of change in lobbying the province could expect should Copeland win, which he promptly did 12 days later with an 82 per cent landslide victory.
Apparently Leskiw received a few calls from the public who read the comment in the Nouvelle, and plans have been sailing away since.
The facetious plan isn't that hard to swallow - what a great way to start the day by having breakfast over a continuing hot topic in the region: the status of Cold Lake. Although it didn't make it to the published portion of the one-on-one interview with Copeland printed Nov. 2, he talked at length about the evolving plan, which now includes an elaborate decorating scheme. Copeland says he wants a nautical theme - fitting considering the importance of the Cold Lake marina - including sails for curtains, a big decorative anchor, and a blue shag carpet.
"She's quite excited to have me moving in," Copeland said.
Leskiw confirmed that the idea had been bantered about, but said Copeland wouldn't be receiving any free ride. The Leskiws would fully expect him to contribute a fair share to household chores, lawn maintenance, and snow shoveling. Leskiw would also expect the renter to introduce any guests.
However, maybe a move-in is not needed to achieve the desired result. Leskiw said her job is to represent all of her constituents and said that she'd be working hard with the Cold Lake mayor to make their concerns heard at the provincial level. No move-in date has been announced, but as the City prepares its lobbying approach to the province, we might well expect the ruse to fall through to more serious endeavours.