Wildrose release their playbook in how they plan to “stand up for Albertans”
Posted Apr 8, 2015 4:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Alberta’s Wildrose released it’s five priorities Wednesday morning that they hope will show Albertans they are the only party willing and able to stand up for voters.
First priority is standing up for low taxes, providing balanced budgets and a savings plan.
According to the document they produced, they are vowing to balance the budget by 2017 without raising taxes or cutting front line services.
They will include all capital spending in a transparent budget surplus figure and create an Independent Budget Office to provide an analysis of each and every budget.
Fifty per cent of their surplus would be deposited into the Heritage Fund and they would allow the interest to compound, growing it to $200 billion.
They would also prohibit all government grants and loan guarantees to corporations.
The plan also calls for creating jobs, growth and prosperity as well as restoring the “Alberta Advantage”, something leader Brian Jean believes has been allowed to flounder under Progressive Conservative rule.
“The only way for Albertans to stop their taxes from going up is to vote for Wildrose MLA’s,” he said from their announcement at a Calgary hotel.
Priority two is standing up for patient-centred health care and seniors care.
The party believes Albertans have been paying outrageous amounts for health care, the highest in the country, but they’re not seeing the results.
They’re calling for the expansion of the patient-care based funding model to include community-based out-patient health services, primary care services and publicly contracted community based surgical service facilities.
The Wildrose also wants to reduce wait times by finding savings in “extravagant pay”, perks, severance and bureaucracy within Alberta Health Services.
Jean admits AHS will still have to exist, in some kind of a capacity.
Their third priority will be “standing up for world-class education.”
“Wildrose believes every child in Alberta should receive an education that is second to none. This means adequate facilities, support for teachers, the best curriculum and a system that focuses resources where they matter most; our students,” their book reads.
They’re vowing to make sure new school projects, modernizations and modular classrooms are approved in a transparent and consistent way and they will speed up the completion of new schools and major projects to save money.
“This means putting shovels as opposed to signs in the ground,” said Jean who promised to eliminate mandatory school fees across Alberta.
The fourth priority involves “Standing up for democracy and accountability in Alberta.”
“After 44 years, Albertans are sick and tired of P.C. entitlement and P.C. mismanagement,” said Jean.
They’re calling for cabinet ministers to no longer be the most expensive in the country, limit severance packages, eliminating big money of politics and phasing out all corporate and union donations.
“Our policy will actually implement MLA recall legislation, legislate true fixed election dates and ban MLA’s under one party from crossing the floor to another without having a by-election,” said Jean.
The final priority calls for “Standing up for Rural Alberta.”
“Jobs depend on rural Alberta being healthy,” he said. “Our plan will bring in effective-rule ambulance response for small towns and communities and ensure municipalities have the resources to address their priorities and their needs.”
He adds the Wildrose will be the only party that protects the right of land owners across the province.
