The economy, healthcare, education, infrastructure, floor crossing, taxes, property rights, in-vitro fertilization, and even the legalization of marijuana, were among the many topics discussed during a dynamic provincial election all-candidates forum that took place in front of a large crowd at the St. Paul Recreation Centre last night.
Appearing at the forum was PC candidate Darrell Younghans, Wildrose candidate Dave Hanson and Green Party Candidate Brian Deheer. Not present was Catherine Harder of the NDP, who did not respond to the invitation to attend.
Audience members were given the chance to ask written questions to candidates and get a sense on where they stood on certain issues. The forum also served as a “getting-to-know-you” type of occasion, particularly for Deheer, who only joined the race for the Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills riding within the past week.
Property rights
With the news coming out this month that Jim Prentice repealed Alberta Land Bill 19, the candidates were asked about what they would do about the other land bills, including Bills 24, 36 and 50, that have an adverse affect on landowner rights.
Hanson answered by saying he is a staunch advocate of property rights, and he said cabinet should not have the right to make decisions without consultation with constituents. He added he would conduct town halls in order to help come to a decision on cases.
Younghans said that as a landowner himself, he would “fight tooth and nail” to defend his property. He also alluded to efforts made by the Prentice government to strengthen property rights in the province, chiefly The Respecting Property Rights Act, which was introduced last November.
Deheer admitted that he is not knowledgeable about the topic but he would support legislation that would help strengthen property rights.
Crossing party lines
One of the forum attendees posed a question about what the candidates thought about government members that “cross the floor” to join other political parties. This question was primarily directed at Hanson due to nine Wildrose MLAS, including former leader Danielle Smith, opting to join the PC’s last December.
Hanson says he has no intention to cross the floor. He added if it came to a point that he wasn’t on board with the party’s direction, he would consider a run as an Independent candidate if the constituents were on board.
Younghans agreed with this point, adding he would solicit the advice of his constituents to help determine what course of action to take.
Deheer discussed how he has the support of Alberta Liberal leader David Swann, which indicates that people in opposing parties have a capability to see value in individuals of different political backgrounds. He stressed the need for different parties to work together.
Senior Care
The three candidates were asked to share their knowledge of continuing care, and the difference between assisted living and long-term care.
Deheer said he didn’t know the details of these concepts. He says he will do more research to acquire more knowledge of these topics.
Both Hanson and Younghans were able to delineate each of the concepts.
Hanson discussed that support needs to be given to the seniors who decide to go the assisted living route and more facilities need to be built to give the seniors the care they need.
Younghans mentioned that under the PC’s leadership, Alberta was one of the first provinces to establish a Ministry for Seniors, which has been committed to building good seniors care facilities, and providing continuing care beds, across the province.
Why an election now?
A question directed towards Younghans asked why the election is taking place on year early, considered the expense it causes.
Younghans says in his discussions with Premier Jim Prentice— who Younghans says is a great believer in democracy— Younghans was told all Albertans should have their say with the party’s recently released budget.
Hanson retorted that if “the premier felt so strongly about this budget, he should have ran with it for the full term and dealt with the consequences instead of calling an early election.”
Deheer talked about how Prentice is calling the election now to take advantage of parties that won’t be as prepared as they will be in 2016.
Budget, Taxes and Services
Hanson was questioned about the Wildrose aiming to provide good services while simultaneously cutting wasteful spending and not raising taxes.
In addition to suggesting that oil barrel prices could be adjusted, he says cutting Alberta Health Services costs, which he indicated is a bloated bureaucracy, would be another good move.
Younghans questioned the economics of the Wildrose plan. He then proceeded to discuss the PC plan to balance the budget, which features small tax increases, moderate-spending cuts and utilizing the contingency fund.
Deheer says he does not find any promise by a political party to not raise taxes as realistic. He then intimated that governments should take the prudent course when it comes to spending of any kind. He also recommends a review of the province taxation levels to ensure that everyone is paying a fair share.
Education
On the topic of post-secondary affordability, Deheer says he will support legislation that safeguards students’ rights to attend school at lower rates.
Hanson proposed the idea of a 50 per cent forgiveness of student loans. If a student graduates in the province, and find work in the province, they get 50 per cent of their loans knocked off.
Younghans says he hopes his party can expand funding for lower-income families so those students will be able to attend school close to home.
When it comes to elementary schools, both Hanson and Younghans expressed the desire to defend a parent’s right to choose what type of education works best for their child and for there to be equitable funding for these schools.
Deheer says he says the value of education in landing a career is tremendous so he will support any endeavor that helps protect a student’s right to receive a quality education.
Job Diversification
When asked about diversifying the economy, Younghans suggests the area needs to take advantage of and promote the tourist attractions in the area, in addition to advancing the forestry industry.
Hanson says job diversification can come from keeping the province’s “young brainpower” in Alberta. Instead of having the younger generations move from Alberta, Hanson wants there to be incentives for these young people to work in the province.
Deheer wants there to be a shift away from oil and gas and focus on renewable thermal, wind and solar energy products. Despeer estimates that Alberta is “probably sitting best in Canada in terms of solar energy potential.”
Infrastructure
The infrastructure question at the forum requested that the candidates talk about how they will maintain infrastructure, and how they will maximize the benefits and job creation for the riding that comes with infrastructure projects.
Deheer admitted he did not have an answer to either part of the question.
Hanson answered this question by referring to the Wildrose’s 10/10 plan, which sees 10 per cent of tax revenue go into the Municipality Sustainability Initiative (MSI) fund. If there is a surplus, 10 per cent of surpluses will also be added to communities’ MSI funds.
Younghans says the Prentice plan has promised $6.7 billion toward road construction within the next five years. He says while the contractor is based out of province, the employees that would be tasked to build these roads would be local citizens.
Legalization of marijuana
In response to a question on the subject, Deheer said he was in favour of legalizing marijuana.
“It has been one of the Green Party’s policies for many years, even though it is not something we try to draw attention to,” says Deheer. “I don’t see a problem with it. There is a need for some people to use it for medicinal purposes.”
Hanson did not offer a personal opinion on this question.
“Decisions like this are not what I should be making for you as an individual,” says Hanson. “Before I make a decision on this, there would be town hall after town hall throughout the constituency in order to come to a consensus.”
Younghans agreed with Hanson on the need to consult with constituents. As a final parting joke, he noted, it could bring another source of tax revenue into the province.
The St. Paul and District Chamber of Commerce organized the forum. Alice Herpberger, the president of the organization, was very satisfied with how the forum played out.
“I thought it was a great forum. We had a lot of people come out, the candidates were fielded with a lot of questions on a variety of subjects and topics. I was really happy with it.”
