Tag: Councillor Allan Vinni

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Ft Mac Politics

Councillor Allan Vinni Facing Unpaid Wages Lawsuit From Laid Off Employee at Law Firm

Wood Buffalo councillor Allan Vinni is facing an unpaid wages lawsuit from an employee who was laid off from his law firm. 33 year old Lianne Locke claims that she worked for the Allan Vinni Law Firm for the last 3 years, and that she was laid off from her position there in May 3 when the wildfire forced Fort McMurray to evacuate. Up until that point Locke says that she mostly handled family law cases for the firm. A statement of claim by Lianne was recently filed, claiming that she is owed $15,000 in unpaid wages by Vinni and that this amount was due on May 1. According to Locke “I have sent him emails and text messages and voicemails indicating he owed me money, and they haven’t been answered. Not getting paid during this time has only added to more financial stress. It’s not just that he owes me money; this was because of a complete lack of communication.”

In the unpaid wages lawsuit Locke also claims that the total she is owed by councillor Allan Vinni could end up far more than the $15,000, because she is owed 50% of any fees for work invoices sent out on April 30 which were less than $400,000, and that any fees over that amount belong solely to her. Lianna told a reporter “I don’t wish him anything bad. I just want him to speak to me and pay what we’re owed.” Councillor Vinni was unavailable for comment, and the charges against him have yet to be proven in court.

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Economic Ft Mac Politics

Councillor Allan Vinni Questions Whether Forecasting Methods for Population Growth Predictions are Reliable

During a recent council meeting Councillor Allan Vinni had some aggressive questions for the industry relations manager over the reliability of the methods used for population growth predictions. During the meeting Vinni repeatedly questioned Dennis Vroom and demanded the reasoning for another forecast update to the council from the industry. Councillor Vinni questioned Vroom for around 10 minutes, calling oil prices used for the future population growth predictions for the region random variables that should not be included or used to predict future population growth. Some on the council were not happy with the grilling that Vinni gave to Vroom, including Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake. Several times Mayor Blake tried to interrupt and it was obvious that she was not happy with the aggressive tone or the questions that Councillor Vinni had.

Many believe that Councillor Allan Vinni had a valid point during the meeting, and that since oil prices change all the time any population growth predictions made based on this variable are not reliable because these predictions could change in minutes or hours. Once Vanni started the questions Blake tried to intervene, commenting “Coun. Vinni, is there any chance you can’t make your point without dragging him…” Councillor Vinni interrupted her and stated “I’m asking him serious questions. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t make them stupid questions!” Vanni even stated that the changes in the predictions were caused by changes in oil prices, stating “Why are we updating the forecast right now? What has changed? Why? Why have they changed? OK, you don’t know. I’ll tell you – the oil price has changed.” At this point Mayor Blake spoke up and said “May I suggest you’ve made your point?”

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Economic Ft Mac Politics

Should Oil Companies Get a Lower Tax Rate for Reducing Commuters? Councillor Allan Vinni Thinks So.

A motion was proposed by Councillor Allan Vinni to allow a lower tax rate for oil and energy companies who operate in the region in exchange for the companies using fewer commuters and trying to fill positions with local workers instead. The goal of the proposal is to place a priority on local workers and help stabilize the local economy. The council will be debated at the council meetings on April 5, 2016. During an interview given shortly after the motion was made Vinni explained the reasoning behind his proposal. “Not very many places in the world have 80,000 people living in their community permanently, with another 40,000 flying in and flying out, not paying local taxes and doing work local people would like to see. Other communities would be rightfully questioning why that many people can’t just live here and put the community first. We need to decide if we’re going to be a work camp or a community.”

In exchange for receiving a lower tax rate Councillor Allan Vinni wants to see oil companies who operate in the oilsands region make a commitment to fill positions with local workers first, only turning to commuters when this is not possible. Vinni talked about the FIFO culture and how it impacts Wood Bufffalo, saying “They just didn’t seem willing to do anything about the FIFO culture or, at best, just saw it as a complex problem involving competition between companies. FIFO is a very complex issue, I understand that. But if we’re going to reduce their taxes, which is what they’ve been wanting, I don’t see how I could ever support reducing them if they’re not willing to do something for the residents. We see companies offer incentives at projects within commuting distance of the community, but there’s a number of different factors on why skilled workers choose to live a commuting lifestyle. I’ll just say that we’re certainly open to having these discussions with the municipality and key stakeholders now.”