Friday Focus: Another $2 Million Up in Smoke: Fiscal Conservatism in “Action”

The Friday Focus is a weekly blog post from Alberta Liberal Leader John Roggeveen. It covers some of the major topics in Alberta Politics each week.

Instead of hiring 20 more teachers or nurses, the UCP spent $2 Million on a predictable report to tell us to consider “alternative scientific narratives” when dealing with pandemics. A quarter million went to its main author, Social Credit scion Preston Manning. 

Manning’s report, recommending politicians make the final call on public health measures, is ludicrous. 

There’s a reason we have engineers build and inspect bridges instead of politicians.For the same reason, we can’t trust the medical expertise of politicians when making medical and public health decisions.

A UCP membership is not a medical degree. Not even close. Let’s listen to people with expertise: people trained in public health. It should be their call when there’s a public health emergency, not the government’s. 

Also disappointing this week was the NDP using one of their limited number of private members’ bills to call for tracking class sizes and classroom complexity. Instead, they should have called for capping class sizes and properly funding our schools. That’s what the Alberta Liberals would do. It’s what needs to be done. Our students and teachers need action, not bean counting. 

Alberta needs solutions, not predetermined reports. Alberta needs concrete steps, not sidestepping problems.  If you’re committed to moving Alberta forward, please donate today. With your help, our party can continue to grow and fight for the province we love.