EDMONTON: Friday, UCP Leader Jason Kenney highlighted over a half-dozen pledges to rural Alberta during his speech to members of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC).
“Since being elected to government, the NDP has turned its back on rural Alberta,” said UCP MLA for Livingstone-Macleod Pat Stier. “The imposition of the carbon tax, the punitive costs associated with Bill 6, and a complete failure to address skyrocketing rural crime rates are just a few examples of how this government has let rural families down. I’m happy to see that our Leader has pledged to work with, rather than against, leaders from Alberta’s rural communities.”
“Strong families and local communities do an infinitely better job than a big, bureaucratic, impersonal state in creating a strong society. That’s where municipalities, particularly rural municipalities, come in,” said Kenney.
While the NDP’s job-killing policies continue to chase investment out of Alberta’s rural communities, Kenney promised to repair the damage done by this ideological government.
“We believe that the most powerful way to strengthen rural communities, and the whole province, is through a vibrant economy. That is why our focus is on undoing the damage that has been inflicted on our economy, and reigniting prosperity to renew the Alberta Advantage,” concluded Kenney.
Kenney’s pledge to rural Alberta includes:
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Scrapping the job killing carbon tax as the first act of the next Legislature;
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Stopping the current government’s expedited, ideological coal shutdown – a policy that will devastate communities, and will massively increase power prices;
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Scrapping Bill 6, because it represents a huge and unnecessary imposition of costs and red tape on farms that are already struggling;
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Appointment of a Task Force on Rural Crime to carry on work done by our legacy caucuses, and which will include MLAs, rural councillors and reeves, and experts in the criminal justice system;
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Reforming the AIberta Immigrant Nominee Program to prioritize applications for individuals who are committed to living in rural Alberta; and
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Oppose any effort to claw back municipal revenues through centralized assessment, or to turn into a repeat of the education property tax, with the province downloading costs onto municipalities.