A satellite office for MLA Martin Long is now open in Whitecourt

When MLA Martin Long first took office in the previous election four and a half years ago, the
constituency office for his riding, West Yellowhead, was located in Hinton. The constituency stretches
from Whitecourt to Jasper and up to Grande Cache. Long said one of his first changes was to move the
main office from Hinton to Edson, centralizing it more between the three most prominent communities
in the constituency.
“Over this time, we’ve also realized that every other community can access the Edson office via the
Highway 16 corridor, but Whitecourt can’t. I talked to my staff after this election, and I asked them their
thoughts because I wanted people in Whitecourt to have the ability to access my office and my staff,” he
explained. Long said his staff agreed to commute to Whitecourt each week on Fridays. The only thing
they needed was a space to call home. On Friday, October 13, Long and his staff officially unveiled their
new space, Unit #4, at 4723-50 Ave, in the same building as OKO Shop & Refillery and Boom 96.7.
“We want to try and provide a bit more accessibility for our office for the folks in Whitecourt and Blue
Ridge and those along the Highway 43 corridor,” said Long. Several Whitecourt Town Council and
Woodlands County Council members attended the open house, as did members of the Chamber of
Commerce, the business community and the public. With big scissors in his hands, Long officially cut the
red ribbon on his satellite office just after 1 p.m.
The one-room space has a sitting area, a front desk, and a large boardroom table. Long said the table
would come in handy soon enough. “We brought in a big boardroom table because we’ve had a lot of
meetings in Whitecourt over the last four years in coffee shops and other boardrooms, but this way, we
hope to be able to make it an inclusive site and bring folks in here as opposed to always having to find a
space and use other people’s boardrooms,” said Long.
The office will be open on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. “If that changes, we will put up signage and let
people know, but currently, we will have it set up that one of the staff from Edson will be driving up to
Whitecourt each Friday.” Long will not be in office on a set schedule as he frequently drives throughout
the constituency and to the legislature in Edmonton. Still, residents will have access to his staff, relaying
messages in person.
“I’m generally only in my office when we have scheduled meetings, so typically, I drive to different
communities for groups of meetings and schedule as many as I can in one day. We will have that
happening here, too,” said Long. Residents or industries/businesses wishing to meet with him are
encouraged to call his office. The local office provides a guaranteed meeting spot, making things easier.
“So many processes are online, but there are still folks who need help, whether it be the online access or
filling out paper forms, and the staff at our office are fantastic resources for that. That really is the
purpose of the office is for those personal interactions so they can come in and be helped and book
appointments if that’s what they want with me,” explained Long. “We are excited to have this footprint
in Whitecourt, and we hope people will find it easy to access. We look forward to interacting with
people here and being visible in the Whitecourt community.”

Long added that interactions with residents in the constituency remain his favourite part of the job.
“That was my focus when I chose to take on the role. I represent the most beautiful riding and the best
people in the province.” MLA Long’s satellite office is located at 4723-50 Ave in Unit #4, Business Plaza

2. The office will be open on Fridays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. His office can be reached by phone at

780-712-7790 or by email at west.yellowhead@assembly.ab.ca.