Roughly 100 local and regional residents flocked to the Bonnyville Fish and Game building last Wednesday as the three men bidding to become Alberta's next Premier were in town for an open forum discussion.
MLAs Thomas Lukaszuk and Ric McIver and former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice were quizzed on a variety of local and provincial issues at last week's debate, hosted by three regional PC Associations.
The event kicked off with an hour long mingling session and fundraiser, where locals had the opportunity to meet each of the candidates face to face before the evening's host Vic Sadlwoski formally introduced the candidates to the crowd to kick off the debate.
Each candidate took five minutes to introduce himself and his platform, with McIver stating he is a man that can “achieve the impossible”, Lukaszuk imploring the public to vote for a Premier they can trust and Prentice talking about the importance of electing a “new man” for the job.
“Since I've come back to Alberta (after my role with the federal government), I've watched and I've been disappointed,” Prentice said. “I'm a taxpaying Albertan just like every single one of you and I'm not happy with the things I've been seeing and the things I've been hearing from our provincial government. Right now, we're not living up to the dream of this province and I think that's something we need to change.”
He added, “I wasn't at the table when decisions of past administrations were made. We need somebody that can come in and restore the trust of the public and show them that the Progressive Conservative party is the right party to lead this province forward.”
The candidates were grilled on a number of pressing local issues, with each giving their input on how they would handle problems surrounding the federal government's temporary foreign worker program, the regional waterline from Cold Lake and much needed upgrades to the Bonnyville Regional Health Centre.
“At the moment, everybody in Alberta seems to be singing off of the same song sheet with regards to the temporary foreign worker program. I believe where we can, absolutely we should be giving Canadians first option on jobs, but for jobs that Canadians aren't interested in, we need the temporary foreign worker program,” Lukaszuk said when quizzed on the issue. “We need a Premier that will say enough is enough, no more politics, no more lies. We want the same deal that Quebec has (the province received an exemption from the new rules to the TFWP). What's good enough for them is good enough for us in Alberta.”
When asked about what he would do to ensure plans to expand the Bonnyville Regional Health Centre moved forward in the coming years, Prentice promised to keep the facility in mind when it comes to addressing infrastructure upgrades should he be named Premier next month.
“I think everybody acknowledges and appreciates that there is a clear infrastructure deficit that this province needs to catch up on over the coming years, and the health centre here in Bonnyville is no exception to that,” Prentice said. “I hear the hospital here is bursting at the seams due to the oil activity and growth in this region, but you have my word, should I become Premier, that I will sit down and assess the priorities of this province and rest assured, the Bonnyville hospital will be somewhere on that list.”
Each of the three candidates also promised to follow through with “much needed” changes to the Municipal Government Act (MGA), while they all also committed to holding the next provincial election in 2016.
Following the conclusion of the three-pronged debate, McIver, when speaking to media, implored the public to select “the right man for the job” when choosing the provincial PC party's new leader next month.
“This is about leadership and selecting the right man that, moving forward, will be able to earn and keep the trust of Albertans,” McIver said. “When you're selecting your new team captain, don't look in the stands. Look on the ice, look for somebody that has been in the thick of the action for the past few years. The truth is, I've been on the ice when our government has scored hat-tricks, and I've been on the ice when we've scored on our own net.”
He added, “I've learned from past mistakes of previous administrations and I know what it's going to take to regain the trust of the people of this great province. I'm different (than the two other candidates), I talk very plainly because I'm a very plain, very ordinary Albertan. I came up as a trades person, a small business person and so I know what the people of this province need. Rest assured, should Albertans see fit to select me (as the next leader of this province) I will do the right thing for this province 100 per cent of the time.”
