Ali Bin Zahid, a dynamic young engineer and entrepreneur, is the Alberta Liberal candidate in the upcoming by-election in Calgary-Foothills — and unlike the previous MLA for Calgary-Foothills, he plans to stay on the job if elected.

Ali was selected as the candidate at a nominating meeting on Friday, held at Symons Valley United Church and attended by Liberal leader David Swann.

GOVERNMENT MUST ENSURE CONFIDENCE IS RESTORED FOLLOWING SPILL

Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann says the NDP must announce concrete actions to get to the bottom of the recent Nexen oil spill.

“We all know that pipelines are, by far, the safest way to transport oil products and that is why it is clear that something went horribly wrong here,” says Swann. “This spill has caused serious environmental damage and it should not have happened. The government needs to find out what went wrong, why it wasn’t prevented, and – if required – hold people responsible.”

Swann’s says the Minister of Environment must announce a government investigation when she tours the site of the spill. He added that a failure to take concrete action puts Alberta’s economic interests at risk at a time when the province desperately needs partners to get our product to market.

“We need to be able to look other jurisdictions in the eye and assure them that not only is this spill not typical, but that we have worked to ensure that it never happens again.”

DETAILS NEEDED ON $6 BILLION IN BORROWING

Calgary, June 9th: Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann says the Minister of Finance has a duty to immediately provide details on the $6 Billion in borrowing the government authorized by order-in-council.

“There is no information on what this borrowing is for; presumably it is for capital projects but we don’t know which projects or how they are being prioritized,” says Swann. “The NDP also has yet to provide a debt repayment plan so Albertans know how this will be paid off.”

Albertans learned about this latest borrowing via a general order-in-council news release, which Swann describes as problematic.

“Last month the government took the laudable step of calling the legislature into session in order to authorize interim supply for the government,” says Swann. “Part of their explanation for the lack of detail in their interim supply bill was its similarity to the previous government’s plan. But now we have a $3 billion difference in the amount that is being borrowed.

“There are too many questions here for the Finance Minister to not provide a full explanation—something he should have done when the legislature was in session.”