Premier addresses party at meeting weekend

Premier Ed Stelmach presented a welcome speech to the Members of the Legislature of Alberta and their guests at a reception for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta’s annual general meeting at the Activity Centre Friday night.

Following an introduction by Yellowhead MLA Robin Campbell, Stelmach and his wife Marie entered to roaring applause while the song Can’t Stop This Thing We Started by Bryan Adams played. 

Stelmach began by highlighting the party’s achievements over the last year, including its 20-year infrastructure plan, the new Spirit of Alberta cultural policy, as well as “new major initiatives to preserve Alberta’s environment and keep our communities safe and strong.”

The premier pointed to the provincial election earlier this year and said the party “confounded the opposition and silenced the doubters... The result was one of the most successful election campaigns in Alberta’s history – 72 seats and our 11th consecutive majority. We can all be pleased with that incredible result.”

Stelmach made mention of his efforts in banding with neighbouring provinces. “Together with British Columbia we’ve already demonstrated bold leadership on tearing down the trade barriers between our provinces,” he said. “And I’m happy to tell you that we’ve found an ally in Premier Brad Wall (with the PC party) and the new government in Saskatchewan.”

He also brushed off environmental concerns  and affirmed the party’s plan to continue to develop the Alberta tar sands. “The world wants and needs our resources and our innovation,” he said. “As a province we are united in our determination to make the most of those opportunities... The fact is, our oil sands account for less than one tenth of one per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases.”

Calling Alberta “the engine of Canada’s economy,” Stelmach said energy taxes, wealth transfers or a halt to oil sands development are illogical because Alberta’s energy production funds health care, education and other national programs. 

Stelmach also said the fundamentals of Alberta’s economy are strong, a statement he clarified in a press conference following his speech. “We have no debt... we’ve got $22 billion set aside for capital, we’ve got $7.7 billion set aside in a sustainability fund... that money is there to push through any catastrophic events.”

“We can also monitor our construction in such a way that if the economy does take a substantial drop across Canada, we can use the capital dollars to keep creating the kind of jobs both in new construction and maintenance,” he said. “We’re very well prepared, the best-prepared jurisdiction in Canada.”

Jim Campbell, executive director of the PC Association of Alberta, said more than 1,000 delegates were in attendance for the weekend. 

Stelmach was last in Jasper in August for the celebration of 100 years of tourism at Maligne Lake.