Lois Laing is a longtime resident of the Battlefords who has been active in the local business community.
But it was during a recent time when she lived outside the community when she got her motivation to run for mayor of North Battleford.
She still had business interests in the Battlefords and often came back to North Battleford, and noticed the city’s decline during those visits.
“I was devastated to see what has happened in the city the last few years,” said Laing, who pointed to a population that had “lost hope.” At that point, the light bulb in her head came on.
“I thought, you know what? I’m going to run for mayor,” said Laing, who said “we’re going to bring this back to the thriving, happy connected community it was before.”
Laing first came to the Battlefords in 1982 to run Miller Hatcheries, and dealt mostly with the farming community. But she later operated a furniture store and a welding and consulting business. Laing also started growing a rental-house business.
Laing also worked in the school division as an educational assistant where she worked with at-risk youth. It has given her insight into addictions and homelessness issues and that carried over to her rental business.
“That’s sort of been my thing — I try to house people that need help and have difficulty finding housing and I like to try and help people with their problems before it becomes ‘finding comfort in all the wrong places.’”
She moved back to the city a year ago. “I think I want to stay here for the rest of my days. I just want it to be a more positive place.”
Laing has come forward with a pro-business, pro-opportunity platform, including a commitment to keep taxes down.
Laing noted she had lived in Warman and said she noticed a big contrast to North Battleford in the way things are run. “The biggest difference is their taxes are cheaper than they are here,” said Laing.
“I’m not quite sure why that is, but if I become mayor I’m going to put a cap on taxes. And I’m going to investigate just how taxpayers dollars are spent here in the city and see if there are some places we couldn’t let the general population have a little bit of relief.”
As for her platform, her first plank is creating “opportunities for all.” The way to do that, she said, is by “removing obstacles” to opportunity.
One of the biggest obstacles, she says, is cost of living — the taxes. The second, she said, is the “crime rate that has gone on here that has put us on the map. And that breaks my heart, because that’s not North Battleford.”
Key to addressing the crime issue for Laing is addressing addictions and the marginalization of individuals.
“These drug addictions and gang affiliations all start when there’s nobody else accepting you in society,” said Laing. “It could be because you are taking drugs, it could be so many things — it could be the colour of your skin. All of these issues are going to be addressed by me. Because every single one of us, no matter what the colour or creed, every person is just as valuable as the other one including those going down a bad road.”
She also wants to see jobs and the economy addressed. She wants to see better paying jobs such as those in the manufacturing sector return to North Battleford, and believes tax incentives could achieve that.
“If we changed our policies and perhaps our incentives we could attract people back here again,” said Laing.
On downtown revitalization, she said what’s been done downtown is “very beautiful — except for the empty stores, and the empty lots.” She expressed a desire to collaborate with others in the city to address the issues there.
“Once we learn how to talk to one another and share ideas, amazing things can happen,” said Laing.
Laing is encouraging those interested to visit her website at loislainggoldenticket.ca, where her complete platform can be found. She welcomes any feedback or phone calls from the public about issues they are concerned about.
“I want to hear from the people that live here how they feel and what they want to see. This is their city and they should have a part of it.”
