Freshly minted as the NDP candidate for Yellowhead, Ken Kuzminski is running for office for the third time.
In 2008, he unsuccessfully ran for the NDP in both the provincial and federal elections, but this time around he is confident voters are ready for change.
“Albertans aren’t afraid of the NDP,” said Kuzminski, a local contractor who lives in Jasper.
“I think after all these years of Stephen Harper, people want a different direction for Canada. People don’t want to be saddled with fear all the time.”
As the former president of the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce and the current president of the Jasper Royal Canadian Legion, Kuzminski said he is well acquainted with local issues and is the only candidate with a strong background in business, as the owner of Kuzminski Contracting Ltd.
“I think I’m the only candidate in this riding that has business experience or been a business advocate,” said Kuzminski, adding one of the biggest issues facing businesses across the riding is the severe labour shortage.
“Everybody is having staffing issues and staffing issues never really go away, but it is particularly acute with the changes to the temporary foreign worker program.”
He also stressed that part of his role as the president of the chamber involved balancing competing interests.
“Being involved with the chamber has really shown me the need for balance and civil discussion and coming up with a solution rather than just everyone pointing out the problems.”
In addition to his business experience, Kuzminski also pointed to his current role as president of the Jasper Legion and slammed the federal government for the way it treats veterans.
“It all comes down to respect,” said Kuzminski, who has also been involved with the Military Police National Memorial Motorcycle Relay Ride since 2009.
“We should have a system where veteran affairs works for veterans instead of against them. It’s not the people in the offices, it’s the attitude of the government. They like to wrap themselves in the flag and get pictures taken of them on the battle fields, but when those soldiers return back to Canada, Harper wants them to disappear and I’m proud to stand by them and offer what help I can.”
As part of his role at the legion, Kuzminski has also transformed the space into a viable music venue, supporting local acts as well as Juno award winners.
“When I started at the legion, nobody else was doing this in town, especially in the summer time,” he said, adding a lot of people told him it wouldn’t work and he wouldn’t be able to make money.
Since then it has become a reputable venue for touring artists and is considered one of the best venues in Western Canada.
Paul Clarke
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