While the provincial election has not yet been called, the campaign to form the next Government of Alberta moved full steam ahead at a Wildrose Party fundraiser dinner in St. Paul on Tuesday.
Around 300 people attended the Ukrainian Cultural Centre for a catered dinner and to listen to leader Danielle Smith pitch the party's platform. Attendees bid on silent auction and live auction items, which included political celebrities, perogies and art.
Party leader Danielle Smith's company at dinner sold for $3,100 in the live auction, conducted by Myrnam auctioneer Miles Wowk of Wowk Ranch Auctions. Local Wildrose candidate and the party's executive director, Shayne Saskiw, went for $1,100 while Fort McMurray – Wood Buffalo MLA Guy Boutilier sold for $1,200.
After the dinner, Smith announced Roy Doonanco as the new Wildrose candidate for Bonnyville - Cold Lake. Doonanco is the CAO for the Beaver River Waste Management Commission and spent 30 years as the CAO for the MD of Bonnyville. Former Wildrose candidate Chuck Farrer stepped down in January for personal reasons.
TACKLING POWER BILLS
In her speech, Smith told attendees about the party's policy on “tackling power bills," released earlier that day. Before the dinner, Smith said the recent spike in power bills is not due to high utilization, as claimed by Minister Dave Hancock while on the cabinet tour in Ashmont.
While Alberta has regulated rates, it has stopped hedging, “So we're not getting the average pricing that we used to get in the past. As a result, those on the regulated option are seeing more volatility than they ever have before. Our regulated rates are now at record highs," said Smith.
Consumers think they receive price protection with the regulated rate option and the government is managing the rate, “and that's not happening … It's resulted in record high prices."
Wildrose thinks new generators should pay a share of future line construction and wants to get back to hedging on the regulated rate option “so we can give that price protection to consumers," she added.
The Wildrose Party wants to do what it can to reduce the volatility, she said. Wildrose believes it needs to control the regulated cost on transmission distribution, she added, referring to the costs paid before electricity is used.
The party's plan includes repealing $16 billion in Bill 50 transmission lines. If the lines go ahead, it will triple the portion of the bill related to transmission costs, said Smith.
The plan calls to promote local generators to compete with distant generators and to reform how electricity is bought and sold in the market. “If we can get more people building generation closer to the consumer, it will reduce our need to build costly transmission lines and we will be able to control our prices."
The plan would also encourage energy efficiency measures.
For more coverage of the Wildrose fundraiser, see the Journal on Tuesday.
