Calgary, AB – Tuesday, Jason Kenney announced a policy Grassroots Guarantee and outlined a five-point policy plan directed at the members of the United Conservative Party (UCP). This announcement comes on the one-year anniversary launch of Kenney’s Unity Tour.
Policy in the new UCP “must be developed democratically by its grassroots members, not imposed by the Leader,” according to a Grassroots Guarantee signed today by UCP Leadership candidate Jason Kenney.
The five-point grassroots policy plan announced today will lead to a positive vision for Alberta’s future and will be directed by the grassroots members of the UCP.
-
- Organize regional policy workshops, inviting all members to participate in open, informed debate to generate ideas for local policy resolutions.
- Encourage constituency associations to hold local policy meetings, where grassroots resolutions can be proposed and voted on.
- Allow all members to comment on and rank preferred resolutions, using a secure online platform.
- Debate, amendment and adoption of resolutions at the founding UCP Convention to form a Policy Declaration.
- Appoint a Platform Committee made up of UCP members and MLAs to consult Albertans of all backgrounds and refine the Founding Principles and Policy Declaration into an election platform.
The Grassroots Guarantee follows a similar commitment Kenney made on July 7, 2016 in which he stated, “A new united party will only be created if approved by a clear majority of grassroots party members in a fair and open referendum.” That commitment was fulfilled on the July 22, 2017 referendum where 95% of both parties voted for unity.
Quotes for attribution to Jason Kenney
“Our conservative coalition fractured partly because Leaders began telling people what to think, rather than listening to them,” Kenney said. “We can’t repeat that mistake. We need servant leadership that empowers grassroots Albertans, instead of dictating our new party’s policies to them.”
“I have clear, consistent convictions, and a track record of implementing conservative policies. I don’t flinch when I’m under attack. And I will continue to answer policy questions with my own views, as I’ve done for a year. But we must develop policy the same way that we created the new party – democratically, with grassroots members in charge.”
“Since we launched the Unity Truck Tour at the Legislature a year ago today, I’ve put over 80,000 clicks on my pickup, travelling to every corner of the province, meeting tens of thousands of Albertans at over 700 events as we built the unity movement. Now we’re headed into the last stretch of this long journey, and I can’t wait to listen to the members of our new party over the next three months.”