With less than a week to go before election day, local candidates from the PC, NDP and Wildrose party fielded a dozen questions from the public during Jasper’s all candidates forum, April 27.
Robin Campbell, the PC incumbent and provincial finance minister, defended his government’s record against accusations of fiscal mismanagement from Eric Rosendahl, of the NDP, and Stuart Taylor, from the Wildrose party.
With more than 70 people in attendance, each candidate was given four minutes for an opening statement followed by two minutes to answer each question.
Campbell opened up the forum by touting his seven-year record as the MLA for West Yellowhead. During his speech he highlighted his ministerial experience and noted his current position as finance minister is the highest position ever reached by an MLA in West Yellowhead.
“I mention this because it speaks to the level of representation this region currently has within government,” he said.
Campbell also used his speech to accuse the Wildrose party of creating a budget that “doesn’t add up” and blamed the NDP for running a platform that will “kill jobs and investment.”
“Our plan is realistic and is balanced by reducing expenditures over the next few years, increasing revenue modestly, while still being the lowest tax jurisdiction in Canada,” he said of his party’s recently released budget.
Rosendahl didn’t mince words during his opening speech.
“Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, it’s time for a change.
“After 44 years, Alberta families can’t afford the Jim Prentice plan to make you pay to get less.”
During his speech, he reminded the audience about his experience advocating for labour, small businesses, First Nations people, the environment and issues involving families and seniors.
He lamented the $4 billion in spending cuts imposed by the Progressive Conservatives in their March budget and ridiculed the government for a slew of new taxes and user fees, expected to raise $1.5 billion in new revenue.
“They have not only proposed a waiting room tax, they are also adding a driving tax, a mortgage tax, a marriage tax, but they conveniently forgot the corporate tax.”
He said the NDP’s top priorities are healthcare, education, families and infrastructure, although he was scant on details.
Taylor took a rather different approach to introduce himself.
“My own view of this election is that I am applying for a job and you, the electorate, are the boss.”
During his speech he accused Campbell and the Progressive Conservatives of having a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
“Fluctuating oil prices are the real world. That’s the world in which government must function. If a government can’t manage, it’s not the fault of oil prices, it’s a management problem.”
He said the Wildrose party would make bidding on infrastructure projects more transparent by establishing objective criteria that is open to public scrutiny.
He also took aim at the government’s healthcare record stating that despite spending almost a third more than the national average, there are long wait times, surgeries are constantly cancelled and there are not enough beds for seniors.
After the opening speeches, the floor was opened to the audience to ask more pointed questions.
Of notable concern were questions about the environment, fixed election dates, non-profit organizations, sustainable energy, tourism, public transit, food banks, infrastructure and the Temporary Foreign Worker program.
At the top of people’s minds, however, was the impact of falling oil prices on the economy.
Rosendahl was the first to respond and argued that the government should be looking at ways to add value to the province’s natural resources.
“It’s very important that we address this issue because after all these oil and gas reserves belong to all of us and we should all benefit and right now we’re not.”
He said the NDP would set up a committee to look at royalties in an effort to address the province’s revenue shortfall.
Campbell, for his part, addressed the comparison between Norway and Alberta, which was used in the preamble to the question.
He stressed that one of the major issues with that comparison is Alberta is a province and must therefore share oil revenue with Ottawa. He said Alberta provided Ottawa with $149 billion between 1993 and 2013.
He also highlighted Norway’s high taxation levels and stated that people in Norway were also being laid off due to the drop in oil prices.
He said his party is focused on getting out of the boom and bust cycle.
“When you look at our 10-year financial plan you’ll see that we are getting off of oil as part of our operating budget,” he said, noting oil revenue will be put into the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, which is forecast to double over the next 10 years.
Taylor, on the other hand, didn’t waste time slamming the government for it’s spending problem.
“We outspend Liberal Ontario by about $2,500 per person, per program. We spend about 30 per cent more on healthcare than the rest of the country, yet we get average or mediocre results.”
He said the Wildrose party doesn’t plan to increase corporate taxes or increase oil royalties. Instead, he said his party would end “corporate welfare” by getting rid of sole source contracts.
He also said that his party would put money away in the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, when the province has enough savings, and put 50 per cent of those savings away for 20 years.
“Be careful when people talk about 10-year plans,” he said. “Remember Alison Redford had a plan and that plan was to have an $8 billion surplus in 2015 and we don’t have that.”
An archived video of the forum is available online.
Election day is Tuesday, May 5.
To cast your ballot in Jasper, visit the Jasper Activity Centre located at 303 Bonhomme St. between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
For those unable to vote on election day, advanced polls are open from April 29 to May 2, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. To cast an early ballot, visit the activity centre.
If you are on the voters list you do not need to bring identification to vote.
For those not on the list, you will need to bring one piece of government issued photo ID with your current address and name, such as a driver's licence or an Alberta Identification Card.
For those without government issued ID, bring two pieces of ID with your name on it. One of those pieces of ID, such as a utility bill or a bank statement, must also have your current address.
You are eligible to vote in Alberta if you live within the electoral division, you are 18 years of age or older on voting day, you are a Canadian citizen and you have been a resident of Alberta for the six months immediately proceeding voting day.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
For more election coverage, check out the candidates closing remarks from the forum, the Fitzhugh's profiles of each of the candidates, the candidates' responses to questions related to Jasper and the region.
