Western Standard - May 19, 2023


Alberta leaders debate 2023 HIGHLIGHTS


Episode Stats

Length

8 minutes

Words per Minute

176.85938

Word Count

1,552

Sentence Count

112

Misogynist Sentences

5


Summary

In this episode, Alberta s premier, Rachel Notley, sits down with her challenger, Jason Kenney, to discuss her vision for the future of Alberta's energy grid, health care, education, and infrastructure, and the economy.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This election, Albertans have a choice between a UCP government that has lowered taxes,
00:00:05.140 balanced the budget, and returned Alberta to its place as the economic powerhouse of Canada.
00:00:11.060 Or we can choose to go backward with the same failed NDP policies that hiked taxes,
00:00:16.500 drove out jobs and investment, and almost bankrupted our province. We can't afford to go back.
00:00:22.880 Tonight, I want to talk about a better future for Alberta, where we fix health care,
00:00:27.260 lower household costs, and create jobs. This election is about trust, and it's about leadership.
00:00:34.680 We have to build a power grid based on it being reliable and affordable, as opposed to based on ideology.
00:00:41.840 We have a federal government that is propped up by the NDP that has put war on natural gas.
00:00:47.740 Our power grid here is almost 90% natural gas, and yet we have a federal government that wants us
00:00:54.340 to be able to be completely abated on natural gas by 2035. That is the commitment that Ms. Notley has signed on to.
00:01:00.400 A lot of Albertans aren't aware that in the pre-election period, the UCP put a cap on what folks are paying for their electricity
00:01:08.440 just for the last four months. What they don't know is that, in fact, come June, they're going to have to pay that back.
00:01:14.760 And that's going to cost about half of Alberta families about $200 million.
00:01:20.420 What we know is that there is roughly $16 trillion of international investment floating around out there looking to invest in renewable energy.
00:01:29.580 Well, I know Ms. Notley says she believes in science and she believes in experts,
00:01:32.880 but somehow the experts at the Alberta's electric system operator, she wants to discredit.
00:01:36.940 But you notice that she didn't disavow the 2035 target for net zero, even though the Saskatchewan NDP did.
00:01:43.440 Saskatchewan NDP voted with Premier Scott Moe saying it is unachievable.
00:01:47.420 If we want to have a realistic plan, a practical plan, we have to fight back against Ottawa.
00:01:52.080 This candidate will not. We have to fight back against Ottawa and make sure that we put a target that's reasonable,
00:01:57.680 realistic and achievable. And that's carbon neutrality by 2050.
00:02:01.080 You want to fight with Ottawa. You want to fight with the media.
00:02:04.340 You want to fight, frankly, with your former self. It's actually quite exhausting.
00:02:09.040 Here's what I need Albertans to know. I will always stand up for Alberta.
00:02:14.560 I will always stand up for the interests of Albertans.
00:02:17.660 I did that when I was Premier. I made sure we got a pipeline to Tidewater, the first one in 50 years.
00:02:24.300 I did that standing up against the B.C. government.
00:02:26.940 I did it standing up with a federal government.
00:02:30.120 And that's my record. And that will also be my blueprint.
00:02:34.320 So beyond dollars spent, what are your creative and transformative approaches to restoring confidence in the system for Albertans?
00:02:43.160 And Ms. Smith, we'll let you have the first crack at that question.
00:02:46.160 When I first got elected, I was being told that the AHS system was on the brink of collapse.
00:02:52.920 You had unions saying that we needed to go back to mandates and start masking kids in school.
00:02:58.160 And I said, absolutely not. We are not going back to that.
00:03:01.220 If the problem is AHS, then let's fix AHS.
00:03:04.480 So we talked to doctors and nurses and paramedics on the front line.
00:03:07.300 We listened to them and we implemented their ideas.
00:03:09.820 And guess what? It's working.
00:03:11.640 Hospital wait times are down. EMS response times are down.
00:03:14.880 We have effectively ended red alerts for EMS in both of our major cities.
00:03:19.820 Ambulances in rural are staying in rural and we're reducing surgical wait times.
00:03:24.020 There is a problem. We've put forward a reasonable, practical solution.
00:03:28.420 The answer is to get more Albertans access to a family doctor.
00:03:32.800 By doing that with our costed plan, we can take the pressure off of our emergency rooms,
00:03:38.380 off of our surgical wait times, off of our ambulances.
00:03:41.100 And we can also make sure that nobody ever, ever, ever has to pay to see a family doctor.
00:03:47.920 We have more health professionals today than we did when Ms. Notley left office.
00:03:51.740 8,500 more, in fact, including 700 more doctors.
00:03:54.940 And in April, our plan to recognize credentials is working.
00:03:58.460 We had 1,400 nurses who are now licensed and able to practice in Alberta,
00:04:03.240 more than any time in the previous three years.
00:04:05.420 Your numbers around job losses, I think we need to kind of talk a little bit about that, Danielle.
00:04:10.760 Many, many experts have reviewed that and they've said they're absolutely ridiculous.
00:04:14.780 In fact, at the end of our term, we had, after a very difficult recession,
00:04:20.240 we came out about 45,000 jobs ahead.
00:04:22.980 These kinds of policies end up chasing away investment and it costs average taxpayers,
00:04:27.920 it costs average citizens the most.
00:04:29.700 Ms. Notley won't agree to that.
00:04:30.660 And the reason for that is she wants to increase corporate taxes,
00:04:33.940 which are going to, once again, chase out investment, just like it did last time.
00:04:37.340 Alex says, please tell us one specific policy your opponent has put forward that you agree with and why.
00:04:45.020 Very early on in the UCP mandate, it was under the former Premier, Jason Kenney,
00:04:49.720 they introduced the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation
00:04:53.160 as a means to expand Indigenous participation in our economy.
00:04:58.100 We like it.
00:04:59.200 We're going to expand it.
00:05:00.140 Another one was they expanded funding of the film and TV tax credit.
00:05:07.040 And that was a good idea.
00:05:08.900 It's brought more excitement into our industry.
00:05:11.220 We will absolutely maintain that.
00:05:13.420 I'm very proud of both of the initiatives that Ms. Notley mentioned.
00:05:17.720 The Indigenous Opportunities Corporation has been so successful,
00:05:21.140 I think, in addressing true economic reconciliation.
00:05:24.640 And the film and TV tax credit brought the last of us here,
00:05:27.160 which I think all of us feel pretty excited when we watch that on the big screen.
00:05:31.700 We are now going to head to our closing remarks.
00:05:34.300 Each leader will have 90 seconds.
00:05:36.440 I first want to say how much of an honour it's been to be your Premier for these last seven months.
00:05:42.880 I've been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of Albertans that I meet every single day.
00:05:48.140 These last three years have been difficult for all of us.
00:05:52.100 And now the wildfires are testing our resolve as a people once more.
00:05:55.740 But I know that together we will overcome every challenge we face,
00:06:00.160 whether it's a pandemic, flood, fire, or economic headwinds.
00:06:04.020 We will take care of one another and we will move our province forward to a better future.
00:06:09.260 My commitment to each of you, if re-elected, is to serve you with everything I have
00:06:14.440 and to the best of my ability, however imperfect that may be at times.
00:06:19.460 I will continue to focus on growing and diversifying our amazing economy,
00:06:24.520 making life more affordable and our communities safer,
00:06:28.060 and improving health care for all Albertans.
00:06:30.800 And I will carefully listen to you and my UCP caucus,
00:06:34.940 because whatever I may have said or thought in the past while I was on talk radio,
00:06:39.500 Albertans are my bosses now, and my oath is to serve you and no one else.
00:06:45.280 I love this province and everything it stands for.
00:06:49.460 We are a land of entrepreneurs and innovators, of pioneers and farmers,
00:06:54.220 of families and communities.
00:06:56.540 A place where the best and brightest come from every corner of the world
00:07:00.100 to join us in building one of the greatest places on earth
00:07:03.520 to live and work and raise a family.
00:07:05.760 From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
00:07:08.100 Tonight, ask yourself, who do you trust to build a better future?
00:07:13.360 Who will focus on the things that actually matter to you?
00:07:17.160 Now, Ms. Smith has spent her entire career campaigning for Albertans to pay out-of-pocket
00:07:24.120 for basic health care.
00:07:26.020 She's also campaigned to pull Alberta out of the Canada pension plan,
00:07:30.480 something that would create huge instability in your retirement.
00:07:34.960 Today, she was found to have broken the law by interfering with our justice system.
00:07:40.780 This is just not how our province should be run.
00:07:45.100 Every day is a new drama.
00:07:47.220 You just don't need to put up with this.
00:07:49.560 Enough is enough.
00:07:51.300 So my offer to you is stable, predictable, thoughtful leadership that you can count on.
00:07:57.040 It's time to get back to the things that matter to people.
00:08:00.080 I will make life more affordable, capping car insurance and lowering your utilities.
00:08:05.060 I will support our entrepreneurial spirit by cutting to zero small business taxes and creating
00:08:11.520 more jobs.
00:08:12.600 And because I'm passionate about making sure your family has health care that you always
00:08:18.140 need without paying for it, I have a balanced, costed plan to make sure you get a family doctor.
00:08:24.000 So that is a better future for Alberta.
00:08:26.840 Now, you may not always agree with me, and I may not have always gotten it right, but I
00:08:31.020 say what I mean, and I mean what I say.
00:08:33.020 If I am premier, again, I will work daily to earn your trust and to focus on your priorities.
00:08:41.360 You can become a Western Standard member for just $10 a month or $99 a year for unlimited
00:08:46.040 access.