The second week of Alberta’s election campaign featured an array of high-dollar commitments from the NDP, though the United Conservative Party had its fair share of spending plans to address the province’s social issues.
NDP leader Rachel Notley so far has pledged to spend roughly $4.5 billion over a number of years, notably $1.5 billion over five years to expand a $25-a-day child-care program province-wide and $1.35 billion over six years to build a new highway out of Fort McMurray.
Notley has said the child-care program would increase employment, largely with more women entering the workforce, adding $5.95 billion to Alberta’s gross domestic product.
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The Fort McMurray road plan, she said, would create 7,500 jobs and ensure Alberta roads will be able to handle the expansion of oil and gas development.
But the UCP is concerned with the high-spending commitments, arguing Alberta is facing accumulated debt of $58.6 billion and can’t handle more deficit spending.
Notley has said her spending plans won’t break the bank, but the UCP believes she has a secret plan to increase taxes, which so far is an unsubstantiated claim.
Other commitments of Notley’s include $110 million annually to give seniors with annual incomes of less than $75,000 full-coverage for prescription drugs and eliminating co-payments, $90 million per year to reduce surgical wait times, a $23 million-per-year boost to the Classroom Improvement Fund and $5 million per year to replace 100 aging playgrounds.
She has also pledged to double incentives for petrochemical companies from $3.6 billion to $7 billion through royalty credits, loan guarantees and grants, which she believes would leverage $70 billion in investment and create 70,000 jobs by 2030.
Rural crime:
The UCP officially unveiled its crime platform this week, notably announcing details that will affect rural communities.
UCP Leader Jason Kenney said he would pursue ways rural Albertans could use reasonable force as self-defence, which would require changes to the Criminal Code of Canada.
“We’re not advocating for vigilantism here. People should not take the law into their own hands, but they have every right to use reasonable force in self-defence, especially when they’re in a remote area and feeling vulnerable,” he said.
Kenney said a UCP government would spend $37 million on crime reduction initiatives, with $20 million of those funds for the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams, $10 million for more crown prosecutors and support staff, $5 million to expand drug treatment court and $2 million for electronic monitoring technology.
He said he would shred the provincial directive that mandates crown prosecutors to triage cases based on the Jordan principle, a Supreme Court decision that requires cases to go to trial in a timely manner.
Under the NDP government, the province spent $10 million on a rural crime strategy, hiring more RCMP officers to address chronic offenders and hiring more crown prosecutors.
RCMP say the strategy is working so far, with property crime falling 11 percent and officers laying more charges against offenders.
Kenney said he would keep the NDP’s plan intact if the UCP forms government.
Health:
The UCP announced it would maintain or increase health spending, reviewing the performance of Alberta Health Services.
Any savings found in reviewing AHS, Kenney said, would be re-invested back into the health-care system.
The platform also addresses the province’s opioid crisis, which sees people die daily from drug overdose.
He said a UCP government would spend $100 million over four years to expand mental health and addictions services, as well as provide additional funding for a tele-health program, allowing rural Albertans to receive prescriptions for opioid treatment.
Any safe consumption sites, which allow users to safely consume opioids and access treatment, would have to go through a socio-economic analysis under a UCP government before they could begin operating.
The UCP would provide an additional $1 million to the Alberta Health Quality Council, which measures outcomes for patients, as well as increase the number and scope of nurse practitioners, opticians and paramedics, and lift the cap on midwifery services.
The party also pledged to reduce wait times for surgery by 75 percent for those waiting three months or longer.
Gay-straight alliances in schools:
Large rallies against an aspect of the UCP’s education platform took place this week in Edmonton and Calgary after Kenney outlined a plan that would roll back some protection for LGBTQ youth in schools.
The plan overshadowed other aspects of Kenney’s education platform, given gay-straight alliances (GSAs) are a charged topic in Alberta.
GSAs are peer-support groups that offer safe spaces in schools, similar to many school clubs, and let LGBTQ students and allies connect with another to discuss life challenges.
The NDP government ensured under law that teachers couldn’t tell parents that their kids were attending GSAs, given some LGBTQ kids wouldn’t want their parents to know their sexual orientation. They also say they would not want teachers to possibly out them in public.
Under Kenney’s proposal, however, teachers would be able to tell a parent if their kid is attending a GSA.
He said in some circumstances it makes sense for the parent to be involved in the child’s life, particularly if the child has severe mental health issues and needs professional medical attention.
Many teachers support the NDP law, arguing they wouldn’t feel comfortable telling parents about their child being involved in a GSA.
Youth at the rallies in Edmonton and Calgary were also adamantly opposed to Kenney’s plan, chanting, “Hey Jason, leave our kids alone.”
Kenney’s proposal would also allow charter schools, some of which are private Christian schools, to not have GSAs. He said the party supports GSAs but religious views must be taken into account. Under his proposal, public and catholic schools would still need to have one.
Under the NDP law, all schools, including charters, are required to have GSAs if a student requests one. Charter schools receive large amounts of provincial funding.
As for other aspects of the UCP education platform, Kenney said it would review the funding model for rural schools, implement provincial achievement tests for Grade 3, and introduce standardized math tests for Grade 1, 2 and 3.
RCMP investigating Kenney campaign:
The RCMP is looking into uncorroborated claims of voter fraud during Kenney’s 2017 leadership campaign.
Former UCP MLA Prab Gill, who was turfed from the party for his own ballot-stuffing scandal, wrote in a letter to RCMP alleging the Kenney campaign obtained fake email addresses, which were attached to names of real Albertans, and used those email addresses to obtain passcode numbers to vote in the UCP leadership race.
Votes were done in bulk batches at computer kiosk stations, Gill alleged in the letter, and were set up to work around voting limits per computer.
Kenney has maintained the party has followed all rules and that the UCP legal council has offered assistance to RCMP in the investigation.
“I have not been contacted personally or asked for an interview, but I would comply if I was,” Kenney said earlier this week.
Kenney has also been embroiled in a scandal involving irregular political contributions to Jeff Callaway’s campaign during the UCP leadership race, which the RCMP is also investigating.
Kenney has denied any personal involvement in contributing or funding the Callaway campaign, though it is evident that members of Kenney’s campaign team communicated with Callaway members to undermine former Wildrose leader Brian Jean, who ran for the UCP leadership but lost.
Contact jeremy.simes@producer.com
