MY VISION FOR ALBERTA

 

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY

FAIRNESS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

 

1.     Creating a Fair Fiscal Framework  

Years of Conservative rule left Alberta with a broken fiscal system and an infrastructure deficit. The NDP government is now burdening future generations with unsustainable debt. These two extremes have not served Albertans well. Under my Leadership, Albertans will have a true third option:

 

• Targeted Spending Cuts: We need a strategic and targeted approach to controlling government spending. There are unnecessary layers of management and bureaucracy, particularly in our healthcare system.  With smart cuts that have minimal impact on frontline workers and services, we can begin to tackle Alberta’s deficit.

 

• New Revenue Sources:  Alberta has a revenue problem. While consumption taxes, such as a PST, have many economic benefits over income tax, they can be regressive and disproportionately affect lower income earners. We should explore more creative revenue options such as savings-exempt and investment-exempt increases on income tax for top earners, and taxes on luxury goods. Such tax increases would effectively work as a more progressive version of a PST.  

 

• A New Focus on Planning and Prevention:  While there is a need to take immediate action on the problems of today, Albertans must plan for tomorrow.  We must shift our focus to planning and prevention on issues such as crime, poverty, health and education. In doing so we can both improve the lives of Albertans and reduce government expenditures in the long run.

 

• Basic Income Pilot Project: Basic income, in its various forms, is a transformative policy that promises a fairer and freer society. Data suggests it could also result in a net reduction of in government expenditures by addressing the root cause of many social and health issues: poverty. I’m committed to Alberta exploring the implementation of a Basic Income pilot project here in Alberta.

 

 

2.         Diversifying Alberta’s Economy

 

While oil and gas remain the core of Alberta’s economy we need to balance supporting our oil and gas sector with building the economy of Alberta’s future. In a rapidly evolving world Alberta needs to adapt. We must think creatively about Alberta’s place in the world of renewable energy sources, the erosion of the nine to five work week, and the increasing importance of the knowledge and gig economy.

 

• Diversification:  I will encourage real diversification of Alberta’s economy with smart, creative initiatives. We need to look at options such as time-limited corporate income tax reductions for new businesses, and tax credits to encourage growth in sectors such as the tech and film and television production industry.

 

• Eliminate the Small Business Tax and Reduce Red Tape:  We need to empower our small businesses to grow, which means getting out of their way while they develop and innovate.  I would eliminate the small business tax and exploring ways to reduce red tape, on an industry by industry basis.

 

• Investing in our Oil & Gas Sector with Carbon Tax Revenues:  Any carbon tax should be revenue neutral. I would encourage Alberta’s Oil & Gas sector to be more efficient, environmentally-sustainable, and value-added, by investing the carbon tax revenues in programs that actually reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and modernize our energy industry.

 

 

3.         Accountable and Representative Government

 

Albertans sent a strong message in the last election: they are tired of the patronage and backroom deals that have defined Alberta politics for too long. Albertans are looking for a government that truly reflects their voice and their values. That’s why I support the following policy initiatives for a more representative and accountable Alberta government:

 

• Electoral Reform:  The composition of our Legislature does not reflect the will of the voters. In fact, in 2015 the NDP won 62% of the seats with only 40% of the vote. As Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, supporting the implementation of a form of Proportional Representation, after consultation with Albertans, would be a top priority.

 

• Free Votes for MLAs:  MLAs are elected to represent their constituents, not the party leader.  That is why as Leader, all MLAs will be free to vote as they choose except on election platform promises and the provincial budget.

 

• Name-Blind Hiring:  As Leader I will advocate for the implementation of “name-blind” hiring practices, so every candidate for a government or public service job is hired on their merits and the hiring not influenced by name or gender.

 

• True Freedom of Information:  The Conservative government was plagued by access to information issues and the current NDP government has continued that undemocratic tradition.  Enough is enough.  As Leader, I will work towards ending the culture of secrecy, starting with digital flat-fee FOIP requests.

• Municipal Lobbyist Registry:   As Leader, I would seek to bring municipal lobbyists under the regulation of the Lobbyist Act of Alberta.  We need to be able to scrutinize the lobbying of municipal officials in the same way as at federal and provincial levels of government.

 

4.         Justice for All

 

At the core of our democratic society is the justice system.  When government fails to provide all citizens with adequate access to the justice system, it has failed its primary responsibility to uphold the rule of law.  That is why, as Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, I would champion the following initiatives to improve access to our justice system:

 

• Fixing Legal Aid’s Funding Structure:  Currently, Legal Aid funding is structured in such a way that funding is least available when it is most needed.  As Leader, I would create a contingency fund for Legal Aid that ensures it is adequately funded in both good times and bad.

 

• Expand the Drug Court System:  By expanding Edmonton and Calgary’s existing drug court systems and introducing them into other jurisdictions, we can improve treatment, assessment and prevention.  This in turn will reduce crime and save the justice system money.

 

• Establish Mental Health Courts:  We need to deal with offenders suffering from mental health problems in a manner that is both more efficient and more compassionate.  Mental Health Courts will help us tackle those cases with the specialization required for those with serious mental illness. 
  
  

 

5.         Twenty-first Century Education

 

There is nothing more important to Alberta’s future than the education of our children.  We need to empower our children with the knowledge and life skills necessary for a productive and healthy life.  Here are some of my policies and stances on education:

 

• Bring an End to School Fees:  Public education should be equally accessible to all. When even the poorest families are required to pay school fees we are failing our children.  As Leader, I will work to reduce school fees while simultaneously ensuring that our education administrators are not left strapped for cash so that they can continue to provide students with the education they deserve.

 

• Financial Literacy:  Life is easier when we can make smart and informed financial decisions.  Sadly, too few Albertans have been adequately equipped to make those decisions which is part of the reason why Albertans have the highest personal debt in the country.  That is why I support an expansion of financial literacy resources for all ages.

 

• Implement a Comprehensive Sex Education Program:  Students and medical officials alike believe our sex education curriculum is insufficient.  I support a comprehensive sex education curriculum that addresses the current gaps on areas such as consent and contraceptives.

 

• Expanding Trades Training:  Many of the best opportunities for young Albertans are in the trades.  These jobs are often high-skilled and high-paying, yet we do not give them enough prominence in our schools.  As Leader, I will advocate for the expansion of trades training in our schools, including establishing dedicated trade schools at the high school level, to help young Albertans interested in the trades find the career path that is right for them.

 

• Protect GSAs:  As Alberta Liberal Leader I will fight to ensure that that law of the land is followed and that students’ rights to GSAs are fully protected in Alberta schools.

 

• Incorporate Private Schools into the Public System:  We need to move away from a two-tier education system to a fully public model while at the same time preserving our accredited private schools as institutions. That is why I support incorporating accredited private schools into the public system, while recognizing that many private or charter schools are not schools for the elite, but rather provide specialized services to unique groups of students which the public system can’t provide, including students with autism or other special needs, students gifted in the fine arts, sports, or sciences, or those whose parents wish to maintain a close connection with their cultural communities and languages.  I would also support a system of means-testing partial public per-capita funding of private or charter schools, so those parents who wish to send their children to expensive private elite schools, who have the means, pay the full cost of their children's private education.

 

6.         Affordable Quality Healthcare

 

Nearly half the provincial budget is spent on healthcare, and it is one of the most over-managed parts of our government. I’m committed to health care policy that looks for efficiencies and looks ahead. By focusing on planning, prevention and choosing options that have long term benefits we can gradually make our healthcare system more efficient without compromising services.

 

• Streamline the Healthcare Bureaucracy:  I will return healthcare decision-making ability to frontline staff and administrators, not centralized under the Alberta Health (Services) bureaucracy.

 

• More Affordable Dental Care:  My government will extend dental care coverage to include lower-income Albertans who are not able to access basic and emergency dental services due to their unregulated costs.  I will also implement provincial dental fee regulations.

 

• Pharmaceutical Coverage for Albertans under 24: I believe Alberta, in conjunction with the Federal Government, should be providing free prescription drugs to Albertans under the age of 24, many of whom do not have adequate access to their pharmaceutical needs.

 

• Addressing Mental Health:  Albertans need guaranteed access to mental health services within a maximum of seven days for those experiencing acute episodes of mental illness, and 14 days for those experiencing disabling symptoms of mental illness that are not of a psychotic or suicidal nature.

 

• Investing in Home Care:  I believe in significantly increasing funding for public home care, which saves money by diverting patients away from our overtaxed emergency rooms and hospitals should be a top priority.

 

• Improved Access to Family Physicians:  We must ensure every Albertan has easy access to a family doctor and a primary care/wellness team by creating more incentives for general practitioners, increasing the ratio of residencies to medical school graduates ensuring ongoing acute and community care linkages, and enhancing regional (rural) medical training programs.

 

• Regulation of Private, For-Profit Healthcare:  Require all private, for-profit healthcare service providers to disclose sufficient information with regard to the provision of programs and services paid for by public money in order to conduct value-for-money analyses and report these finding to the public on an annual basis.

 

7.         Welcoming New Canadians

 

Canada is a country of immigrants and Alberta is no exception.  New Canadians enrich our culture and strengthen the economy, and I want to make sure Alberta is the most welcoming and appealing province for new Canadians in all of Confederation:

 

• Expanding ESL Programs:  By helping new Canadians learn English, we open up opportunities for both them and ourselves to be better enriched by each other economically and culturally.  That is why I support an expansion of English as a Second Language programs for both adults and children.

 

• Aid Newcomers in Gaining Their Equivalency:  Canada and Alberta bring in many highly-skilled immigrants, then fail to utilize their expertise.  I would expand funding for equivalency training, ensuring that new Canadians are able to both meet Canada’s standards and put their talents and expertise to use in their chosen fields.

 

• Increased Funding to the Refugee Resettlement Fund:  The refugee resettlement fund is a grant program that is helping Syrian refugees better integrate into Canada, but it needs further funding to be fully successful.  I’m committed to expanding funding to this program in order to better help these new Canadians make a home here in Alberta.

  

8.         Environmental Sustainability

 

Fairness to future generations is pivotal to my campaign, and that value is required in our environmental stewardship.  We need to make responsible choices today so future Albertans do not pay for our mistakes:

 

• Overhaul Alberta’s Carbon Tax:  The Carbon Tax is the right idea implemented the wrong way.  Currently, it lacks accountability and real targets.  I will work to overhaul the Carbon Tax, including setting concrete targets against which to measure its success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and making sure the revenues go towards green technology and public transportation initiatives, and not into general revenue or an NDP re-election slush fund.

 

• Designate Surface and Groundwater as a Public Good:  Our natural resources, including our water, belong to all of us, and its time we started treating them as such.  We need to manage our water supply in the public interest, for the present and future generations of Albertans.

                                                           

• Reducing Pollution of our Land, Air, and Water: Enhance independent monitoring measures and impose tougher penalties for polluters. This would include the timely management of orphan wells in Alberta.

 

 

                                                                       

9.         Quality of Life for Seniors

 

Our seniors are the foundation upon which our great province was built, and we need to stand by them in their old age in recognition of all they have done for us and Alberta.  That is why I’m committed to making life better for our seniors with policies such as these:

 

• Increase the number of Long-Term Care Facilities:  Long-term care is not only more affordable it is more appropriate than the acute care facilities that too many of our seniors are forced into. Increasing the number of long-term care facilities is both financially smart and socially compassionate.

 

• Provide Senior Activity Centres with Stable Funding:  Caring for our seniors means making sure they have full and active lives.  Our seniors’ activity centres need to be funded adequately and in a stable manner that lets them make long-term plans in the best interest of seniors.

  

10.       Post-Secondary Education

 

Our post-secondary institutions are hubs of innovation and exploration.  They are where Alberta’s leading minds are forged.  I’m fully committed to both our post-secondary institutions and their students by:

 

• Improving Financial Aid to Alberta’s Students:  I will make grant-based financial aid available to Alberta students as an alternative to debt-financing, with an emphasis on front loaded grants.

 

• Stabilising Funding for Post-Secondary Institutions: A student should know how much their degree will cost in their first year.  I will focus on providing stable, predictable funding for post-secondary institutions through multi-year funding cycles so they can better plan and provide students that certainty.  

 

• Investing in Post-Secondary Infrastructure:  I would support the delivery of an equitable one-time capital funding package to universities in order to remedy accumulated infrastructure liabilities due to chronic underfunding.

 

• Improving Access to Post-Secondary Education: Access to postsecondary education should not be based on socio-economic status. I will explore innovative ways to improve access for all Albertans whatever their background and means.

 

 

 

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY

FAIRNESS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS