A familiar face in Lloydminster’s council chambers, Michael Diachuk is seeking re-election in the upcoming municipal race.
Diachuk, who was first elected in 2016, remembers how he first got involved in the council race.
“My daughter played five years with NAIT and she was asked to be the president of the women’s hockey alumni association.”
Despite her opposing the idea Diachuk encouraged her to do it saying, “You have to give back.”
Diachuk quickly faced a retort from his daughter, “Well what are you going to do?”
Considering for a moment he decided he would give back by running for municipal council.
He never expected to get elected but to his surprise he did.
“I actually enjoyed it (council), it was fun, it’s a kind of job that is limitless in terms of the different types of topics, challenges and ideas,” explained Diachuk. “I know of no other job where you will talk about cemeteries, pickleball and road construction within an hour and a half.”
He says despite the job being challenging there’s a lot to learn.
Diachuk was inspired by a quote he read on a poster at his doctor’s office.
“I asked god for all things in life so I could enjoy it, instead god gave me life so I could enjoy all things,” he recalled the poster saying, clarifying he was not a religious person.
“The whole idea for me is to just keep being busy, keep being active and being involved.”
Diachuk was first elected to council in 2016 and with this upcoming election will be seeking his third term.
He says one of the biggest issues he’s faced is insuring Lloydminster be perceived by two separate provincial governments as a whole city.
“You’re constantly advocating to make sure that the city is perceived as one, being one and whole,” he explained.
Diachuk says getting funding from and having both Alberta and Saskatchewan understand the complexity of a bi-provincial town has been difficult.
He says one of the big challenges the city has been facing is in regard to the homeless in the city.
“The big one we’re experiencing now is the homeless one,” said Diachuk. "We attend conferences with other cities and municipalities across the province and they’re all experiencing some level of the homeless challenge."
“One of the most recurring comments is, "‘When you figure it out, let us know," he said.
He continues by saying there’s always a series of incremental steps to making change.
“Some of the incremental stuff that I think is working is the funds we provide over at The Olive Tree with the home-based program,” said Diachuk. “We have over 30 people that have been taken off the streets and moved into transition housing.”
“I think that’s the next pressure point in our community, being able to provide that transitional housing.”
He says mental health and addiction are key issues are also key issues.
Another issue that Diachuk has his eye on is health care.
“I think health care and the hospitals have to be top (issues),” he said.
Diachuk spoke on other issues including the city’s economic growth and budget pressures.
“I think we need to get through the next couple of years in terms of our budgeting,” he said.
He says some capital projects the city is making payments on will be coming off the list in the next few years.
“Over the next two or three years, we’re really going to need to manage our finances,” explained Diachuk.
Diachuk also touched on the downtown and the issues it faces. He says the downtown should be a place that looks nice and invites people in.
“I think it’s making the downtown look like a cool place to be,” he said.
Diachuk says he likes the Downtown Area Redevelopment Committee and the direction it’s taking the downtown. He says it’s important for business owners to be a part of the conversation and help decide what’s best for the downtown.
Overall Diachuk says he has enjoyed his time on council.
“I think for each term its been unique and challenging," he said.
Read more: Council approves funding for artificial turf
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