OLDS - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith discussed a myriad of issues and challenges facing the province during a two-hour, town hall-style meeting in Olds on Saturday.
Smith, along with former Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper and UCP constituency candidate Tara Sawyer met with several hundred supporters in the Holy Trinity Catholic School's gymnasium.
Cooper's resignation as the constituency's member of the legislature was effective Thursday at midnight. He is replacing Jame Rajotte as the province's senior representative in Washington.
On May 15, the UCP announced Kneehill County ag producer Tara Sawyer as its Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills candidate to replace him. No byelection has been called yet.
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In her opening remarks during the May 24 gathering, the premier said she plans to challenge the newly-elected federal Liberal government to make changes, including regarding oil and gas policies.
“One of the challenges we have right now is Ottawa,” Smith said. “I’ve drawn a pretty clear line in the sand. I’ve got nine demands of the federal government if they want to re-set the relationship and we know we cannot do that unless they start repealing some of these terrible policies that have prevent investment.”
Questions posed by audience members included queries about citizen-driving referendums, provincial independence, health-care reform in Alberta, pensions and provincial-federal government relationships.
Asked whether Alberta should separate from Canada, Smith said, “I hope it doesn’t go that way. I hope that we can have Canada work the way Canada was meant to to work, which is that we are supposed to be strong and sovereign provinces within a united Canada, that the federal government is supposed to honour our jurisdiction over energy production, over electricity production, over resource production, over food production.”
The UCP has done recent polling that shows 37 per cent of Albertans are “prepared to look at autonomy," she said.
“That’s the highest number I’ve ever seen. I take that seriously and the federal government should take that seriously too,” she said.
Asked about the possibility of creating an Alberta Pension Plan, Smith said the issue may be put to Albertans next year in the form of a referendum.
“I think we are getting to the point that Albertans are ready for the debate,” she said. “It will probably be spring of next year that we would put it to people to decide.”
Asked about the restructuring of Alberta Health now underway, Smith said the changes will result in better service for patients.
In an interview following the meeting, Smith told the Albertan, “There is a lot of disappointment that we have another Liberal government with a lot of the same faces at the table and we’ve seen a lot of talk about changing direction but not a lot of action.
“I think there’s a lot of skepticism in the room. I’m still being very hopeful that we will be seeing some changes, but that’s what my job is for the next six months, getting a change of direction from the federal government so we can start building things again.”
Asked when the byelection in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills might be called, she said, “Soon.”
Following the meeting, the UCP's byelection candidate told the Albertan she is ready for the campaign once it gets underway.
“It is something I feel confident about, being a voice for the people of this riding. I’m excited to be able to help in any way I can to keep the strong Alberta that we have,” Sawyer said.
Asked if she is concerned that one of the candidates in the upcoming byelection in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills will be Republican Party of Alberta candidate Cameron Davies, Sawyer said, “We all have what we stand on and I think it is important that we keep a united province that’s strong together and fighting for our interests. I think as the UCP candidate I can do that.”
