40 Reasons to Vote Wildrose
40 REASONS TO VOTE WILDROSE
“No other party in Alberta has put forward a more positive agenda for change in Alberta than the Wildrose,” Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith said. “Our Green Book is the most bold and comprehensive policy platform in Alberta history and our 40 Reasons to Vote Wildrose show that. I am excited to bring these ideas to the people of Alberta in the next election.”
1. Protecting Private Property
One of the most fundamental roles of government is the protection and preservation of private property. That’s why a Wildrose government would repeal bills 19, 24, 36 and 50, pass the Alberta Property Rights Preservation Act, and spearhead a national effort to have property rights enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
2. Better Access to Health Care
Albertans can have the very best public health care system in the world. We can have a system that’s universal, publicly funded, and without wait times. A Wildrose government would start to fix the system by dismantling the health Superboard, returning decision-making authority on patient care to local administrators, and allowing funding to follow patients to the hospital, clinic or treatment centre of their choice.
3. Balanced Budgets
Alberta’s balance sheet was once the envy of the country. By sticking to our values of fiscal responsibility, we eliminated our debt and deficits. We can do this again. A Wildrose government would get Alberta back in the black – permanently – by setting a hard cap on government spending increases, prioritizing capital spending projects, and introducing pay-as-you-go legislation so in-year budget increases are offset by an equal reduction.
4. More for Charities
The Wildrose recognizes the essential role non-profit and charitable organizations play in assisting society’s most vulnerable. These groups are on the front lines – they have the expertise and the compassion to bring communities together to take care of one another. A Wildrose government would give the non-profit sector more tools to succeed by providing a stable funding formula, expanding the charitable tax credit and introducing an optional volunteer tax credit.
5. Film Tax Credits
With our natural beauty, diverse climate and top-notch talent, Alberta is a choice destination for filmmakers, but our tax competitiveness could be improved. Instead of direct film grants, a Wildrose government would take politics out of the equation and instead implement a generous broad-based film and television tax credit comparable to other jurisdictions.
6. Free Votes
MLAs are elected to represent their constituents. They should be accountable to the people who elected them, first and foremost. A Wildrose government would empower MLAs by allowing more free votes in the Legislature. This means MLAs will be able to vote on issues and laws according to the wishes of their constituents.
7. Open Information
The free and open flow of public information is essential to a health democracy. A Wildrose government would allow for easier and more affordable access to public information by implementing a reverse onus policy that would require the government to prove to the Privacy Commissioner why an information request should not be released.
8. Whistleblower Protection
An important part of transparency and openness in government is making government employees feel safe and confident about raising issues they may encounter. Those on the front lines must be free to alert government of emerging problems. A Wildrose government would introduce whistleblower protection for all government-paid employees and professionals, including health care workers.
9. Recall
In a functioning democracy, MLAs must remain accountable to the citizens who elected them, above all else. A Wildrose government would boost MLA accountability by bringing in legislation that would enable voters to “recall” their elected MLA and force a by-election if he or she isn’t representing them well in the Legislature.
10. Fixed Election Dates
Election dates shouldn’t be manipulated by the party in power for political gain. Fixed dates would ensure electoral fairness for all parties. A Wildrose government would level the electoral playing field by bringing in fixed dates for general and Senate elections.
11. Senate Elections
Throughout our history, Alberta has a led the charge on making the Senate more democratic and accountable to the public. We need to take the lead on this important issue once again. A Wildrose government would pick up the mantle of Senate reform and by creating fixed Senate election dates so Albertans can have their voices heard in Canada’s upper chamber.
12. Smaller cabinet
With 24 cabinet ministers, Alberta’s cabinet is too big. The government could deliver the same level of service with less bureaucracy and cost at the top. A Wildrose government would send a strong message about leadership and fiscal responsibility by reducing the size of cabinet from 24 to 16.
13. Saving for the Future
Former Premier Peter Lougheed envisioned a way to convert Alberta’s non-renewable resource revenue into long-term savings that would pay dividends well into the future. He called it the Heritage Fund. A Wildrose government would significantly grow the Heritage Fund so it generates enough investment income to eventually eliminate Alberta’s reliance on oil and gas revenues.
14. Eliminate Wasteful Spending
Alberta could realize billions in savings simply by evaluating government expenses and getting rid of the waste. A Wildrose government would start by cutting the $2 billion for carbon capture and storage, eliminating the Alberta Venture Capital Fund, freezing management bonuses, reducing the size of cabinet and reducing the manager-to-worker ratio in the public sector.
15. Student Loan Forgiveness
Alberta can’t keep sending graduates into entry-level positions with six-figure debt loads. And, with a labour shortage looming, we can’t afford to lose graduates to other jurisdictions. A Wildrose government would ease up on students who choose to stay in Alberta after graduation by forgiving student loans so they can get on with their lives and become productive contributors to the Alberta economy.
16. Reducing Red Tape
Alberta’s future economic growth and competitiveness depends on having a streamlined regulatory framework. However, earlier this year Alberta received a failing grade from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business for regulatory reform. A Wildrose government would actively review and reduce regulations that compromise Alberta’s competitiveness as it relates to other jurisdictions.
17. Prioritized Capital Spending
Municipalities across Alberta face huge infrastructure backlogs. Instead of forcing municipalities to come begging cap in hand to the province for money from various grant programs to get their road, hospital or school built, a Wildrose government would establish a clear list of prioritized infrastructure projects to build the most needed projects first. We would also create a predictable funding formula – based provincial revenues, inflation and population growth – to maintain an appropriate level of capital spending each year.
18. Kinship Palliative Care
Caring for a family member as they near the end of their life can be extremely difficult and stressful. A Wildrose government would help ease that burden by introducing a kinship palliative care program that would provide modest compensation to those who take a leave from work and sacrifice long hours to make their loved ones’ final days as comfortable and peaceful as possible.
19. Prescription Drug Hardship Benefit
The cost of prescriptions drug is becoming more and more of a burden for seniors. Seniors struggling with the cost of living should not have to choose between their daily necessities and their needed prescriptions. A Wildrose government would introduce a prescription drug hardship benefit to assist seniors who require an overly burdensome amount of expensive prescriptions.
20. Western Energy Strategy
Alberta needs new export markets in order to realize its full economic potential. A Wildrose government would work with the governments of British Columbia and Saskatchewan, as well as the federal government, to develop a Western Energy Strategy that would eventually see a pipeline built to the west coast, allowing Alberta’s energy products to reach new and growing markets.
21. Natural Gas Strategy
Alberta can and should be a leader in clean energy. A Wildrose government would implement a natural gas strategy focused on shifting energy output away from high-carbon fuels like coal onto natural gas and other cleaner burning alternatives. It would support our local industry, it would reduce emissions, and with natural gas prices so low, it would save Albertans a little bit of money too.
22. Eliminate Tailings Ponds
Tailings ponds pose serious risks to wildlife and have contributed to an international backlash against Alberta’s oil sands. A Wildrose government would build on industry’s efforts to reclaim disturbed land by implementing a strategy to accelerate the reduction and reclamation of new and existing tailings ponds.
23. Protecting Children
Ensuring the safety and protection of citizens is one of government’s primary responsibilities. The importance of this role is magnified when it comes to our children. A Wildrose government would increase funding for Alberta’s Integrated Child Exploitation (ICE) Teams, which work with law enforcement to track down predators and identify victims of child sexual exploitation.
24. Human Rights Protection
Albertans have long identified themselves as a prosperous and free people. That freedom hinges on the protection of our fundamental human rights. A Wildrose government would scrap Alberta’s Human Rights Commissions, which have more often infringed on human rights than protected them, and create a Human Rights Division of the Alberta Provincial Court to adjudicate human rights cases with full public funding for complainants to take legitimate cases forward.
25. Long-Term Care Beds
Long-term care is unquestionably the best option for seniors who require medical support. It’s personal, it’s familiar, and it’s close to family and friends. A Wildrose government will build more long term care facilities and significantly reduce the barriers and regulations that discourage private companies, individuals, non-profits and charities to build long-term care, assisted living and palliative care facilities.
26. Alberta Pension Plan
Alberta seniors have paid into the Canadian Pension Plan their entire working lives. What they get back just isn’t enough. A Wildrose government would help seniors put more money in their pockets by withdrawing from CPP and creating the Alberta Pension Plan. Because of our demographics, it would allow us to both increase benefits for seniors and reduce the premiums hard-working Albertans contribute from their paycheques.
27. Expanding Home Care
Most seniors want to be able to stay in their own homes and communities as they age and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to. A Wildrose government will redirect more of the health budget to home care and see to it that sponsor families in personal care and special care homes are able to accommodate willing seniors in the sponsor’s homes, where appropriate.
28. Improving AISH
Living on AISH is hard enough without the government clawing back benefits for recipients in the workforce. A Wildrose government will end the unfair benefit clawbacks for vulnerable Albertans who wish to supplement their income with a job. We will also make sure AISH recipients get stable, yearly support increases in line with the escalating cost of living.
29. Referenda
Sometimes, in a democracy, there are issues that arise that must be decided directly by citizens. Similarly, citizens should be enabled and encouraged to initiate direct votes on issues of urgent importance or controversy. A Wildrose government would hold more direct votes on urgent public issues and pass legislation establishing citizen-initiated referenda.
30. Fair MLA Severance
Severance packages for departing MLAs should not be extravagant and out of line with common practice elsewhere in the workforce. Currently, MLAs receive three months pay for every year served. That’s too much, especially when it comes to taxpayer dollars. A Wildrose government would change it so MLAs receive a maximum of one month’s pay for every year served, to a maximum of 12 months.
31. New Municipal Deal
Municipalities need predictable and stable funding from the provincial government so they can adequately plan for the future to meet the needs of their citizens. A Wildrose government would replace the current patchwork of funding and granting programs with a legislated funding formula tied to the growth of provincial revenues and would share a percentage of budget surpluses with municipalities.
32. Independent MLA Pay
Politicians should not be in charge of setting their own pay and benefits. A Wildrose government would take the politics out of MLA compensation by establishing an independent process for determining MLA remuneration and benefits to ensure taxpayers aren’t left with the bill for overpaid politicians.
33. Support for Farmers (Income averaging
trust accounts, disaster relief, crop
insurance)
Farmers and ranchers face unique challenges in dealing with erratic weather conditions and uncertain world markets. A Wildrose government would establish targeted relief mechanisms that provide short-term assistance when disaster strikes and work to introduce income averaging and saving plan provisions. We would also reform insurance and disaster relief programs to ensure that farmers and ranchers with legitimate claims get swift payments.
34. Fixing Equalization
As it stands, federal equalization payments are by far the biggest cost to government in Alberta. We need a better deal from Ottawa so Alberta taxpayers don’t overpay for expensive social programs and generous benefits in other provinces. A Wildrose government would aggressively lobby the federal government for changes to the equalization formula so provinces aren’t rewarded for staying dependent on Ottawa and are encouraged to improve their own productivity.
35. Public Wait Times
Wait times in Alberta have been on the rise since the creation of the Superboard and often, Albertans are left in the dark about when they can expect treatments they need. A Wildrose government would track and publicly disclose waiting lists and costs for all procedures, as well as the treatment outcomes for all health facilities. Empowering patients with this information will allow them to make a better choice.
36. Health Care Inquiry
Front-line health professionals in Alberta have been targeted, threatened and intimidated by senior government officials in order to prevent them from speaking out on deficiencies in the system. A Wildrose government would clear the air and provide a safe forum for doctors and nurses to speak out by holding a public judicial inquiry on the intimidation of health professionals.
37. Transparency in Justice
Justice delayed is justice denied, and in Alberta’s justice system, case backlogs and verdict deferrals often leave victims of crime without the closure they deserve. A Wildrose government would begin cleaning up the justice system by tracking and reporting various performance measures for the justice system, including time between laying charges and a verdict, the total time of court hearings in a case and the time between reporting an offence and laying a charge.
38. Victims’ Bill of Rights
Far too often, the rights of the accused and convicted criminals are put before the rights of the victims. A Wildrose government would start putting the rights and needs of victims first and foremost by enshrining into law a Victims’ Bill of Rights that would guarantee crime victims receive the resources, protection and compensation from their offenders that they deserve.
39. Out of Province Care
Long waits for essential treatments and operations are needlessly jeopardizing Albertans’ lives. A Wildrose government would ease wait times and get more Albertans the care they need when they need it by funding needed services outside the province should timely access to medically necessary procedures be unavailable in Alberta.
40. CHANGE!
Forty years in government is a long time. It’s a long, long, long time. Forty years is enough! It’s time for something new. Danielle Smith and the Wildrose are the best choice for change in Alberta – to make our public health care system work again, to restore our eroded democracy, to bring fiscal responsibility back to government and to lead Alberta into future. Vote Wildrose!
The 40 reasons were pulled from the Wildrose Green Book, our 132-page, 250-point policy document.
The Green Book details Wildrose policy in 15 areas of provincial jurisdiction.
Wildrose stands for free enterprise, less government, increased personal freedom and democracy.
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