Garth Rowswell, United Conservative Party (UCP) MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright, will be retiring from his post at the end of this term.
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Rowswell, who was first elected in 2019, says it was always his plan to serve a few terms before bowing out.
“My plan was maybe a couple of terms. I kind of knew what I wanted to do when I went in,” he said. “I’ve made progress on all those things, so I’m pretty content that I’ve accomplished most of what I’ve set in to do.”
He outlined three items he was focused on tackling as a provincial representative.
“I wanted a balanced budget, I wanted to reduce red tape and then push back on what I called the war on fossil fuels,” he explained.
He says as of now, they’ve reduced red tape. When it comes to balancing the budget, Rowswell says the mind set is there.
“Sometimes, it’s hard to do, but the goal is to get there,” he said.
A new pressing issue of health care emerged during his first term with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As I went through my first term, health care became a really important thing,” said Rowswell.
He decided to run again after his first term, still aiming to help out with health care and deal with affordability.
“I think we’re making lots of changes in health care and I’ve been involved in a lot of that,” he said.
One notable accomplishment for Rowswell is the work he’s done with nurse practitioners.
“It’s getting nurse practitioners, so they can open their own clinics and not have to work under a doctor,” he said. “Now, we’ve got three, and a fourth one coming in Vermilion.”
He explained progress was made for the Border City, as regulations were put in place to enable information to flow from Alberta to Saskatchewan.
“We finally got Netcare to go across the border now,” said Rowswell. “Information from Alberta can come into Saskatchewan. We passed it in the fall of ’20 and we just got the regulations in place in ’25, this past fall.”
He’s also been working on getting permits for coal mines in the area.
“I’ve been a big advocate for coal. In the last two years here, I’ve been working really hard to get more coal mines going,” he said, noting it’s hard to get a permit for one. “Everything you do has a footprint, but if you can mitigate them or reduce them, then that shouldn’t stop you from trying to do it.”
With the next Alberta general election coming up in the fall of 2027, Rowswell says he couldn’t see himself retiring completely.
“I just can’t imagine going from how active you are as an MLA to nothing,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind helping. If a minister needs help on province-wide information gathering, I wouldn’t mind doing that.”
Reflecting on his time as an MLA, Rowswell says he’s lucky to have served in the area.
“I really enjoyed the job,” he said. “I always tell people it’s more than a full-time job, but it doesn’t feel like work. You learn so much and I’m really, really happy I did it.”
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