Stelmach proves he’s not up to the job of Premier

Ed Stelmach claimed that his government brought in the Lobbyist Registration Act, but it is not yet proclaimed.

He claimed that his government brought in conflict of interest rules, but he delayed implementing them until just before the election, and he let retiring MLAs and aides dodge the new rules by making them effective in early April. Ed Stelmach sticks up for his cronies.

Everyone is not benefiting from the boom, as Stelmach claims.  According to the latest Statistics Canada figures, there are 64,000 Alberta children in families with income below the Low-Income-Cut-Off after tax (1 in 12 children in Alberta).

49% of all the children living in families with income below the Statistics Canada low-income cut-off have at least one family member who has worked full-time full year.

There are 343,400 employed Albertans making less than $12 an hour. This is 21.9% of all employed Albertans.

Ed Stelmach only put money into long-term beds, and he only did it on the eve of an election, almost three years after the Auditor-General’s report and the MLA Task Force.

Stelmach said “Leadership is about listening to Albertans.” He didn’t listen when the Affordable Housing task force said he should put in rent controls.

Stelmach said “Alberta has the best water management in North America.” Well, the Rosenberg Forum, the Radke Report, AMEC Earth and Environmental, Dr. David Schindler all disagree.

NDP Leader Brian Mason, whose party is now running fourth in some polls, proved to be short on the truth, too:

In attacking the Alberta Liberals on corporate donations, he forgets to mention the shakedown letter his party’s MLA Ray Martin wrote to Alberta unions on September 21, 2007, demanding a minimum $5,000 donation to the NDP.

In a stunning display of arrogance, Mason accused the Alberta Liberals and PCs of raising millions of dollars…together. Well, Brian’s nose is growing.

Mason said Liberals and Conservatives accepted $1.5 million from big oil and other large corporations in 2006, and almost $1.6 million in 2005. Elections Alberta figures show the Alberta Liberal Party received $273,536 from all corporate sources in 2005, and $336,575 in 2006. Lumping together the Alberta Liberal and Progressive Conservative fundraising together is, well, a big fib.

Mason isn’t being straight on pharmacare. The Alberta Liberals proposed a pharmacare program as far back as 2003. And it is also a part of our 2008 election platform.

Kevin Taft and the Alberta Liberals led the fight against increasing health care contracts to private health care companies like the Health Resource Centre in Calgary. We were also the ones who exposed problems with Calgary Health Region contracts with private operators at the Holy Cross Hospital.

Mason thinks we need to have more clinics where a doctor is on salary.  The Alberta Liberals have proposed the implementation of a province-wide Community Health Centre model since 2003.

Mason flip-flopped on oil sand development. Until tonight, he was always in favour of a moratorium.