Council member John Chadi is back, and he attended a meeting of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council last Tuesday. Chadi has been receiving treatment for bile duct treatment, and he has received a terminal diagnosis for the disease. After being elected to the seat for Ward 2 in October 2013 Chadi was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer and he has missed almost all of the council meetings since then as he fought to survive the disease. Shortly after being elected Chadi needed to ask for medical leave, but he is now back on a case by case basis depending on his health. Few were unsympathetic about Chadi’s absence from council meetings because everyone was aware of what was going on.

Council member John Chadi discussed his position on the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council with the media. Chadi said “The determination is to fight as hard and as much as I possibly can. At some point in time, and I can’t say when, we’re no longer going to be here. So I guess the point I would make is that we’re going to make … an impact while we are here as much as (we) can.” The councilor also talked about why he did not just telecommute for the meeting, saying “I felt that I needed to be here. I’m not sure how many meetings that I will be able to attend, but I can tell you that as long as the health is okay … I will definitely be here.”