EXCLUSIVE： UCP leadership candidate Rebecca Schulz
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Summary
In this episode, I sit down with former Children's Services Minister and current United Conservative Party (UPC) candidate Jason Kenney to discuss his campaign and what he's looking forward to in the upcoming leadership race. We talk about his vision for the future of the party and what it stands for.
Transcript
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Children's Services Minister and MLA for Calgary Shaw. Hey, Ms. Shales, how are you doing?
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Very good. Thanks. Just doing my Monday rant. It's therapeutic. It gets it out of my system.
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Yeah. I like it. And there's always lots to get me worked up, but I'll try and keep things calm
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for when we talk here. So your campaign's just kind of kicking off. You've put your foot forward
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for the UCP leadership. I guess one of the first areas you kind of went into, and it's a big area
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that I'm asking every candidate about, is the party unity, internal unity, keeping things together.
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Because of course, winning the leadership's one thing, winning the general election's another.
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And if the party still looks like everybody's at each other's throats, people probably aren't
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going to vote for them. Yeah. And that's really my first and foremost focus is keeping our party
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united so that we can really make sure we're in a good position to take on Rachel Notley in
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2023. And one of the things I've been saying is that, you know, it's been a tough couple of years.
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I know that. But it is time as Conservatives to come together to stop vilifying each other and
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focus on who our opponent really is. And that is Rachel Notley in the NDP.
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So there's some contentious policy points that are kind of coming up or things where people are
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taking different stances. I've seen from candidates addressing Ottawa, alienation, things such as that.
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It's definitely a top issue. People are concerned. Where do you land on that? How can this government
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defend Alberta against a federal government that's not always favorable to us, I guess you could say?
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Yeah, we do have to stand up and continue to fight for our constitutional rights. We're not really
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asking for anything special necessarily. What we're asking for is the constitution of our country to be
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followed and respected. I think one of the things that I want to be clear on is I'm not going to make
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promises we can't keep. I think we need to continue to team up with like-minded provinces because there
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are other provinces looking for the same things largely that we are. I think we've got to recognize
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that a lot of good work has happened, like appointing our own chief firearms officer. I mean, that's
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obviously important as we see Justin Trudeau trying to weigh in on firearms laws and really rule-abiding
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firearms owners in this country. We've also got good news on Bill C-69 with the Alberta Court of
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Appeal saying that that's unconstitutional. That is good news in our fight for a fair deal. But I'm
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going to be focused not on headlines, but on results for Albertans. You know, the child care deal that we
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signed with the federal government, I did not sign on the dotted line. I didn't accept the first deal
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that they pushed across the table our way. And, you know, I fought for what made sense for Albertans.
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And I can tell you that what would really hurt Alberta, especially when it comes to the federal
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government and making sure that Albertans are getting a fair deal is having an NDP government
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next year. Yeah, absolutely. Having the NDP in would be horrific. We already had a four-year
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taste of that. Absolutely. But dealing with the federal government, I mean, that is one of those
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difficult ones. And you saw as Children's Services Minister, though, they take our money
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and then they offer a program back and say, well, if you don't embrace the program, we're just going
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to take your money and spend it somewhere else. So you're basically throwing away your own money if
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you don't take part. It's kind of a backhand way of pigeonholing us into federal policy. But how can
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we push back to make sure those policies reflect our needs rather than what the federal government's
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imposing? Well, and here's what I always say is that we need unwavering conservative values to be
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at the forefront of our platform and what our party stands for. That said, we've also got to use
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common sense of making decisions. So when I would hear from Alberta families and yes, even conservative
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supporters, they said, look, we're not we're not OK with leaving almost four billion dollars of our
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hard earned tax money in Ottawa to pay for child care in every other province across the country,
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except for here. They see that as an economic advantage for us to make sure that parents,
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yes, women, but, you know, men, women alike, parents can take part in the labor market, right,
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that they can take part in these new jobs that are being created every single day here in Alberta.
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Childcare is very expensive and it is, in fact, a barrier for many when they're looking to go back to
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school or get into the workforce. So that's where, you know, we had to use some common sense.
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We did fight very hard, especially on making sure that private operators, entrepreneurs
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were included in this system. Last week, I got a call from a reporter out of Ontario saying, look,
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I've got operators in three other provinces saying they wish that they had the deal Alberta had.
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So for us, it was the behind the scenes work, the hard work to make sure that we're listening to what
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Albertans want us to focus on. But making sure we don't have a maiden made in Ottawa or made in Quebec,
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anything here in Alberta, we had to focus on what is going to work for Albertans.
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Okay. Well, and speaking of big budgetary numbers and that, recently the budget had come into balance,
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but there's still a large get there. What policies would you be putting forth to work towards,
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you know, if we're looking at fiscal responsibility, hopefully maybe some debt retirement?
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You know, and I would say, even back when I was door knocking in 2019, I had people say,
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you need to balance the budget. And I said, absolutely. I agree with you wholeheartedly,
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fiscal conservative, but just so you know, we're going to make decisions that are difficult. Some
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of them you're probably not going to like. And in me, you're going to have someone who will continue
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to show up, take your phone call, stand on your doorstep and hear your perspectives on that.
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We have done a lot of hard work over the last couple of years that has to continue.
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We hear a lot of people saying, you know, the heritage savings trust fund, we've got to save
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for future generations. We have to continue to keep government spending down. And when I look at that
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as a parent of two young kids, my kids are three and seven. It is an imperative because when, you know,
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they are in our positions making decisions, I don't want them to be paying off our debt. I want them to
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have the flexibility to meet the demands of their generation and their time. You know, it is
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important, but I would also say that we have to continue to invest in things that people rely on.
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I mean, rural healthcare is important. Having family docs is important. Having a good education
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system for our kids. You know what? That's important too. But I think that we can show that we've got
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compassion, common sense, but can also balance the budget and keep us on a good fiscal trajectory.
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Great. So we're still in the, you know, things seem to be recovering. We're getting better and
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the world's winding down, but COVID still exists. There's always the warnings. It has its ups and
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downs. Are there different ways if COVID starts surging again in the future, how would you look
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to address that as premier? You know, I think we still, obviously we have all become very aware of
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some of the capacity issues within the hospital system, AHS. You know, that reform is going to
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take some time, but I think people know that there is some very real urgency to addressing some of those
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issues because, well, both we saw that health restrictions, especially in these last few waves,
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didn't stop transmission or it may be slowed down, but we also have to recognize that it didn't have
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the outcomes really, and that it had a significant impact on people's overall mental health and
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wellbeing. And so, you know, that's what I hear from people all the time. It's important for my kids to
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be able to play sports. It's important for them to have school be as normal as possible. So I can tell
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you that I've heard that feedback. You know, I really have, and I think we need to continue to listen to
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our frontline healthcare workers because they have some really great ideas on how we can create
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capacity within the system and do a better job on that front so that we can keep people's lives normal.
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Great. And since you brought up healthcare capacity, and this is a question I've been asking
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every candidate so far, it's kind of issue specific, but it's something I've been writing on for a long
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time and frustrated with is our ambulance services. I mean, we had that recent tragedy with the elderly
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lady passing away with an ambulance that took over 30 minutes to get there. And we'd heard that there were
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18 ambulances at that time sitting in hospitals, trying to offload. Yet, all we get in response
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is, well, we'll strike a committee and wait four months. Like we just, to be honest, one of the
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frustrations I think with the UCP people have had is a lot of talk and not a lot of action. We don't
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want more committees. We want to see something solved. How would you address that?
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You know, I've heard exactly that almost word for word is we don't need panels and committees. We need
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action. And so my style is this, and I think anybody who's worked with me in children's services,
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you know, in my previous role would know this, that, you know, I'm not about getting necessarily
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the perfect policy. Let's roll something out. Let's move quickly. You know, childcare deal,
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a good example. We were not the first to sign, but we were one of the first two provinces to roll
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out those savings to parents, which was a big deal. We need to take action. And then we need to,
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you know, take a look at where things are working or not. And when you mention, you know, I had EMS
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frontline paramedics say it's a hall monitor policy is what they called it, where they're essentially,
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you know, stuck waiting to offload patients instead of being able to go and address,
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you know, ambulance calls. That's important. And so I know that that committee is working
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really, really hard to make some fast changes in that area. And I would say my colleagues,
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you know, RJ Sigurdsson, Tracy Allard, they have been meeting with my frontline
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paramedics, but also managers, you know, in EMS who have very real examples and changes that they
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want to see made. They said, look, I don't need 10 point plans or 42 point plans. We just need to make
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some changes now. We also added a number of new ambulances to the system pretty quickly there,
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which will help reduce some of the pressure. But you're right, those things are urgent and we need
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Okay. Another contentious area with government, it seems to happen. Well, this has been
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ever since I was old enough to read newspapers, but curriculum battles, they go back and forth with
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children in schools. People feel it's been politicized on the part of the NDP or on the part of the UCP.
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Do you think we could find some resolution where parents might be content and happy with where
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the curriculum sitting? You know, I think there are some areas of the curriculum that people like.
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Financial literacy, that is important. It's, you know, again, as a mom of a seven-year-old,
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I mean, I get that. Those are important things for my kids to know. The math curriculum, the focus on
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language arts, reading, you know, I don't hear a lot of opposition to those areas. I do think, you know,
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we have to make sure that when we say we're taking ideology out, that, you know, we're not putting,
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you know, we're not putting in a different type. I think, you know, really what I hear about that is
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sometimes the concern isn't exactly the decision that's made. It's how, like, how did we come to
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that? How are we communicating it? And I think, you know, it's sometimes conservatives. I mean,
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we have really great ideas and, you know, I believe that we don't win when we run on liberal
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light platforms. We do well when we stick to our conservative values, but I do think
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that we have to be able to communicate that very well and people need trust in the process. And I
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think that comes from clear communications, being straight up with Albertans. I think that can help
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to create that trust in the process. People make sure, or people really feel like their voices are heard.
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Great. And then I guess kind of a final question with municipal relations. The federal or the
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provincial government's had some pretty rough relationships, I guess you could say, with the
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Edmonton, Calgary mayors over the years. I mean, some ups and downs. Can we streamline some of that
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so it's not a constant battle? Or is it just, I know there's some ideological differences that are
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always going to lead to some degree of sparks? You know, I think there's always going to be
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relationships amongst different levels of government. We're always going to have different
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priorities. So there's always going to be differing opinions at different levels. I do think we have
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to work to refresh and renew our relationships there. They obviously need some improvement in
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some areas. And I know our current Minister of Municipal Affairs is working really hard on that.
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I think whether we're working on issues in some of the major urban centers or, you know, addressing
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issues like rural crime, we need those relationships to be strong so that we can solve some of those problems
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together. Great. Okay, well, just kind of in wrapping up, then I appreciate you coming on,
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talking to us. And of course, the main goal, though, is to ensure that we have a good government. I mean,
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next election, we're looking a year from now, you're going to, you know, whoever is the winner is going
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to have to move really fast. Just in a nutshell, then make your pitch on why you're the best person
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to give us a good government in the next election. Yeah, I think, you know, we need a leader,
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not just for the next election, or the next two years, we need one for the next generation
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of our conservative movement. And that is absolutely in the best interests of our party.
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But of course, for Alberta, we need somebody who will continue on our path of economic growth,
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somebody who will continue to defend Alberta's constitutional rights and make sure that we
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remain a leader in this country, but also working on unity. And one of the first commitments I made
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was to get out there to Dornock and every single one of the 87 ridings right across this
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province, meet with our grassroots constituency association boards, their board presidents,
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make sure that our members and all Albertans really feel like they have a voice at the decision
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making table. And I think what this comes down to is we have an amazing team. We have excellent
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representatives right across Alberta, they are talented, they are smart, they are hardworking. And I
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think, you know, it's important for me to to explain a little bit about my style is that it's not all
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about me. It is about all of the people who stand alongside me who do this important work every
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single day, and making sure that our team can come back together and focus on defeating the NDP next
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year. Great. And where can people find more information about your campaign if they want
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to learn more or take part? Yeah, of course, it's RebeccaForLeader.ca.
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Great. Well, thank you very much for coming on to talk to us today. There's still a good few months of
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campaigning to go. I hope we get a chance to talk again before the campaign's over and see how things are
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developing. Yeah, absolutely. That sounds great. All right. Thanks. I'll let you get back on the