Lac La Biche County councillor John Nowak is stepping into provincial politics as the Alberta Liberal Party candidate for Lac La Biche-St. Paul. Nowak and party leader Dr. Raj Sherman were at the Bold Center in Lac La Biche on Dec. 13 to make the official announcement.
“In the next election the public will have the opportunity to have some real choice," Nowak said. “Hopefully I'll be able to show them I've got the skill set and the integrity to lead Lac La Biche-St. Paul to a better future."
The Lac La Biche-St. Paul riding hasn't been represented by a Liberal since Paul Langevin in 1993. Langevin later switched to the Progressive Conservatives in 1995. And it's been over 90 years since the Liberals held power in Alberta. However, Sherman and Nowak say that gap works to their advantage: the Liberal party can't be blamed for any of the major problems in the province today.
“As I was talking to a lot of the hard-core PCs in the community, a lot of people have told me: 'I'm not going to vote Liberal, they've screwed things up for us,'" Nowak said. “And I say: were you even alive at that time? Because the last time the Liberals held power in Alberta was 1921 … The PC party has held power for 40 years. If anyone is to blame for the current state of affairs, it's them."
Sherman alluded to the recent PC-sponsorship scandal, where party volunteers allegedly solicited donations from ineligible donors in the Lac La Biche-St. Paul constituency, as being indicative of a party that's been in power too long.
“You shouldn't be bullied into having to vote a certain way, having to donate money from your municipal councils. That's just wrong," he said. “That's warlord politics. This has got to end."
Sherman became the Alberta Liberal Party leader after being ejected from the Progressive Conservatives for criticizing his party over health care reforms. A former emergency room doctor, Sherman had a strong focus on health care at last Tuesday's candidate announcement.
“I know there are major problems in Lac La Biche in health care," Sherman said. “You don't have doctors, and if things were different here the city centre airport wouldn't be as big an issue."
He said Alberta under PC power has gone from being the least-spending, best-performing province to spending the most and having some of the longest wait times in the nation. He also said the province's mental health treatment is in “crisis,"
“Did you know that more Albertans die from suicide than they do from car accidents on the highways?" Sherman said. “Why don't we attack the mental health problem? We have to make this a priority to have better resources for the community: social workers, mental health counsellors, addictions counsellors … That is one of the main reasons we're leading the country in murders, because of mental health and addictions problems."
Nowak, who owns and operates Iron Gym on Main Street Lac La Biche, told the dozen-strong crowd of supporters who came for the candidate announcement that Sherman is the leader Alberta needs.
“I ran for council last year because I was disappointed in what I saw as distasteful politics in Lac La Biche County. I now seek the office of MLA for the same reasons," Nowak said. “I believe that Dr. Raj Sherman is the right leader for this province. I'm willing to stand behind him. He understands that it's not the name of the party that matters, it's the people and the values they represent."
The next provincial election is expected to be called between March 1 and May 31, 2012. During the campaign, Nowak will take an unpaid leave of absence from Lac La Biche County Council.
Nowak won't have to step down from his post as councillor unless he is elected as MLA.
