Gauntlet News - PC leadership candidates face off
Ready, set, schmooze!
Story by: Katy Anderson, Gauntlet Politico and Patrick Rodrigues, Gauntlet Politico
Story date:
Thursday,
October
05,
2006
With King Ralph finally dethroned, the race has begun to find a new leader for the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party who is crafty enough to keep their 35-year run going.
To prepare for the November 25 party convention that will decide their fate, a formal leadership forum was held at the University of Calgary Red and White Club Wed., Oct. 4 to give party members a chance to interact with the future
premier, whoever he or she turns out to be.
Party renewal and reconnecting with the grassroots were hot on the agenda, with candidates taking very similar stances on most issues.
With nine candidates running, all saying almost the same thing, it can be difficult to sort through all the political jargon and find out what issues separate them. So read on, get informed, buy the $5 membership needed to cast your
vote and take responsibility for Alberta's future.
Victor Doerkson was the only one of the nine candidates not in attendance at the forum.
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Image caption: Gary McPherson
Is still an announced candidate, meaning he hasn’t yet received the full amount of signatures required to become an official candidate. As such, the majority of his policy mirrored that of other candidates.
Image credit: Katy Anderson / the Gauntlet-end of image-
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Image caption: Mark Norris
•Provide funding to the growing arts scene in Alberta to help combat the image of Alberta as a money hungry province.
•Create a ministry of tourism, showcasing Alberta’s treasures like the Badlands and other rural-based sites.
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Image caption: Ed Stelmach
•Tackle growth-related issues by investing in and implementing new research methods.
•Create an Alberta pension plan with the surplus.
•Make education more accessible by offering more scholarships, bursaries and increasing the number of satellite campuses.
Image credit: Katy Anderson / the Gauntlet-end of image-
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Image caption: Dave Hancock
•Increase adult literacy, by increasing the available programs.
•Ensure high schools offer a more diverse field of subjects to encapsulate all interests and keep students from leaving school early to pursue jobs in the oil patch.
•Increase funding for post-secondary education.
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Image caption: Lyle Oberg
•Make student loans available to all, regardless of parental income.
•Offer a reward program where the fourth year of PSE would be free for those students who maintain a certain level of academic excellence.
•Place onus on employers to avoid hiring young adults without a high school diploma.
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Image caption: Ted Morton
•Disband the RCMP in Alberta in favour of a provincial police force similar to that in Quebec.
•Give party members a greater role in deciding policy.
•Support a shift in power from Ottawa to MLAs in Edmonton.
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Image caption: Jim Dinning
•Reduce water usage in the extraction of oil sands by having government work hand-in-hand with big business.
•Integrate new media, like the Internet, to reach out to youth and get them more involved in politics.
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Image caption: Alana DeLong
•Focus on K-12 education.
•Use schools as a focal point of the community, in both rural and urban settings.
•Use the new schools for multiple purposes, such as offering social assistance programs out of them, making schools a fiscally sound venture and lowering the overall cost of education.
Image credit: Katy Anderson / the Gauntlet-end of image-
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