Dear LFGA Members;

As you likely know, the Lethbridge Municipal Election takes place on October 16th.

Voting Stations will open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Lethbridge Transit will offer free service on Election Day.

Again we encourage all members to be informed and please vote.  The future of our organization and facility is tied to the outcome of the Municipal Election making it’s results import to our ability to fulfil our mission and continue to grow as a community.

As we have done in the past, the LFGA has sent a request for statements from all Candidates and have set a deadline of this Friday the 6th for their replies.  We will publish all the replies we get on Sat. the 7th first thing in the morning. We will then open a survey by email available only to those members already on our membership list Sunday the 8th.  On Monday the 9th we will publish the results of our member surveys.

The LFGA thanks all the Candidates for their willingness to serve our community.

Again, We STRONGLY encourage all members to become informed and exercise their right to vote, and at the advance polls if possible.  There are a number of advanced poles and although this year we were not able to provide information before all the advance polls.  There is one advance pole on the day that we will publish the candidate messages/replies and then two more after as well, as two mobile voting station days.

Advance Polls:

Saturday, October 7	City Hall, Atrium 910 – 4 Avenue South ​	10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Wednesday, October 11	University of Lethbridge Andy’s Place (Anderson Hall) 4401 University Drive West	10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday, October 14	City Hall, Atrium 910 – 4 Avenue South	10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Mobile Advanced Polls:

Thursday, October 12	Park Place Mall 501 – 1 Avenue South	10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thursday, October 12	Westside Safeway 550 University Drive West	4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

For more information visit:

The City of Lethbridge Information for Voters

Please contact me with any questions or comments at [email protected]

Here is a copy of the email letter that was sent to all candidates for your information (verified.)

Dear Candidate

The Lethbridge Fish & Game Association as a volunteer community service organization, believe strongly in the democratic processes and respect all those willing to serve the citizens of our community. We would like to thank you for running in the civic by-election.

As we did with the previous election, to make your views known and better assist our members and voters make informed decisions, we would like to ask you to submit a message to our members.

By answering as directly as possible and stating your position in clear terms it will send a decisive message to those concerned with these issues on your stance and allow them to vote accordingly.

I am hoping to receive a reply to these questions no later than Friday October 6^th so we can share them over the weekend with our membership for their feedback.

We trust you are happy to take a few minutes to share your views with the voters of Lethbridge as a matter of record. Your answers will be shared with voters in the form of your original reply and if you prefer not to answer these questions in any way I will mark you as ‘unresponsive.’ 

As there are a large number of new candidates running in this election I have included an outline of who we are and what we do in more detail. In case you are not fully aware of the scope and reach of our nearly 94 years as a community organization I will provide you with some information:

The Lethbridge Fish and Game Association -1923 ~

The Lethbridge Fish and Game Association is a community organized to Advocate for Conservation, Education, Outdoor Recreation and Shooting Sports.

Mission

• Advocate for wildlife, fish and habitat conservation in a spirit of cooperation with other organizations and all levels of government
• Provide facilities and equipment for hunting, fishing, and firearms education
• Promote responsible behavior while using our natural resources with: members, youth and the general public
• Develop a community that fosters a spirit of cooperation, tolerance and understanding while enjoying the outdoors.

The Lethbridge Fish and Game Association endeavors to:

• Encourage membership, individuals and any interested organized group to assist in the conservation of wildlife and our renewable natural resources.
• Have all members uphold the laws governing forestry, lands, wildlife and fisheries.
• Foster, stimulate and continue a spirit of cooperation, tolerance, understanding and equality between all sportsmen; and that unity of thought and purpose be established towards this goal.
• Promote the organization and education of youth within the Association and the public.
• Work towards good landowner relations so that a mutual respect and understanding may be reached which will be just and advantageous to all concerned.
• Promote the wishes of our organized sportsmen before all levels of government.

Pledge

• We believe in the wisdom of nature’s design. 
• We know that soil, water, plants and wild creatures depend upon each other and are vital to human life. 
• We recognize that each living thing links to many others in the chain of nature.
• We believe that continuing research into the intricate pattern of outdoor life will help assure wise use of earth’s abundance. 
• We condemn no wild creature and work to assure that no living species shall be lost. 
• We believe that every generation should be able to experience spiritual and physical refreshment in places where primitive nature is undisturbed.  We will be vigilant to protect wilderness areas, refuges and parks, and to encourage good use of nature’s storehouse of resources. 
• We dedicate ourselves to the pleasant task of opening the eyes of young and old that all may come to enjoy the beauty of the outdoor world, and to share in conserving its wonders forever.

Our very active community maintains a paid membership of around 1600 people yearly.  We invest time, money and local knowledge into meeting our mandate and providing a facility for safety education, training, shooting sports training and events, recreation and public awareness. We contribute tens of thousands of dollars and nearly the same amount of community volunteer hours to our local/regional and provincial activities that support the environment, flora, and fauna.

We have been recognized and received awards as an organization and our members individually are chosen at national, provincial, regional and local levels to be recognized for their community based achievements or sporting excellence.  Our Shooting Sports Facility provides, member services and also serves as a ‘home base’ for the many athletic teams and athletes who compete at all levels from local to international events.  The list of Champions that come, and have come from our community is extensive. Although the Shooting Sports are among the safest sports in the world we invest in safety and security upgrades continually to ensure the safety of those in and outside our facility.  Our activities and events bring thousands of visitors to the city of Lethbridge every year bringing economic and promotional benefit that reaches far beyond our organization. We work with many Law Enforcement agencies providing facilities for training and testing members of the Lethbridge City Police Force, the R.C.M.P, Canadian Border Services, the Blood Band Tribal Police, the Calgary City Police, the Alberta Solicitor General – Sheriffs, as well as school groups, scouts, cadets, and many other groups and agencies for adults and youth.  Our Shooting Sports Facility is also the home range for other community organizations such as the Southern Alberta Firearm Education Society and Chinook Country Shooters Club, who with the LFGA offer community leagues, classes, clinics, events and other opportunities.  On the conservation side the list of partner organizations is very long but includes groups that work within our region such as the Alberta Conservation Society, Pheasants Forever, Alberta Fish and Game Association etc.

As a local and regional hub for conservation, safety education and shooting sports we maintain a very strong social media presence.  Our Facebook page sees a weekly reach of an average of 7000 unique visitors, most coming from within our local community.  We have recently launched a new website ‘lfga.club’ as our previous website could no longer handle the traffic.  The traffic on our new website is building and often sees visits of over 2000 a month.  Our direct mail to our members reaches almost 1200 members of our local community. We are a highly passionate and active segment of our local community and economy. Our members come from every part of society which encourages diversity and inclusion.  We provide free supervised access to the range as well as programs for youth.  Affordable for all income levels. We are a learning community that values tolerance, understanding, cooperation and respect.

As you can see, our members and those they influence, collectively represent a significant segment of the voting public and they would like to hear from you concerning the issues and topics that are important to them.

If you choose we will publish your message (without editing or any changes) to our members / wider community.  This gives you and every candidate an opportunity to speak directly to a large segment of active voters about issues that really matter to them.

Some suggested talking points are listed below.  Please refer to our Mission and Pledge for further clarification about what we stand for and strive to achieve.  

 *Remember we encourage you to speak directly in your message and state clearly how your own policies and decision making would be in concert (or not) with our mission and activities.

Do you support the continued operation of the Lethbridge Fish & Game Shooting Sports Facility in its current location in Pennaquim Park?  

Do you believe the City of Lethbridge has an obligation to residents by assisting the Lethbridge Fish and Game Association provide a safe, controlled environment to use firearms?

Do you agree that the LFGA Shooting Sports Facility represents an important community sport and recreation resource?  

Do you believe that the LFGA Shooting Sports Facility should be treated differently than other sporting venues by the City of Lethbridge? If so, how?

What is your position on ethical hunting and our need to support modern methods of wildlife management. 

How would you support the extensive conservation, environment protection and revitalization, and wildlife management programs we provide?

Have you ever worked with the LFGA in the past and what was your experience?

We look forward to your reply!

Please contact myself, Scott Sweetman, Community Relations Chair at [email protected] with your reply and any questions you may have.  I and other volunteers are available to take any candidate on a tour of our Shooting Sports Facility to explain our activities in more detail or show you the upgrades we have made and will be making to ensure we remain one of the best and safest facilities of our type in Canada.

NB: Please email your reply to [email protected] by Friday the 6^th to ensure it is included in our mail out to our membership.  Please note all candidates will receive this offer to provide direct access to our community equally.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Scott Sweetman

Community Relations Chair

Lethbridge Fish and Game Association.