The Alberta Party will diversify our economy

The PCs have failed to diversify Alberta's economy

During the last forty-four years the PCs have been saying that we need to diversify Alberta’s economy. Forty-four years later the PCs are saying exactly the same thing with no real results.

In fact, former PC finance minister Ted Morton recently revealed how Alberta taxpayers are on the hook for $26 Billion for processing payment to build the Northwest Upgrader, a bitumen refinery near Edmonton.

“What began as a low-risk, low-cost project to encourage domestic bitumen upgrading has morphed into a multibillion-dollar boondoggle with high risks for Alberta taxpayers,” said in a paper released by the University of Calgary School of Public Policy.

The Alberta Party has a better way.

The Alberta Party believes in market-driven economic diversification where entrepreneurs and the free market, not the PCs, decide the future direction of Alberta’s economy. 

 
We will:

• Promote entrepreneurship by gradually phasing out Alberta’s small business tax.

• Invest an additional $100 million in the Alberta Enterprise Fund, an arms-length agency that provides venture capital funds to support Alberta startups.

• Invest in infrastructure that supports our creative industries and protect arts and cultural funding.

• Diversify markets for our agricultural products by working with the federal government to promote them internationally.

• Increase support for the development of new value added agricultural products for local and domestic markets. 

We believe that the government shouldn’t be in the business of picking winners and losers. The Northwest Upgrader is just the latest failed PC attempt to diversify the economy. Instead, we believe that the government should establish an environment that supports entrepreneurship and innovation.

The Alberta Party has a better way.

Read our full platform here.

Red Deer's Education Crisis

Red Deer’s School Crisis:

• Here is Red Deer Public School District's letter in regards to the PC's education cuts. 

• Here is Red Deer Catholic School District's letter in regards to the PC's education cuts.

• Red Deer Public has 2.7 million less dollars than in 2014-15.

• Red Deer doesn’t have enough schools -- class sizes are at all time highs and provincial funding is not keeping up with population growth.

• In 2014-15, Red Deer Public school board used funds from its reserves to address the shortfall from government funding in order to sustain services to learners. In 2015-16, school boards won’t have the same flexibility in drawing from reserves and will have to justify the use of reserves to government and only for what government approves. 

• Red Deer schools will have higher class sizes, less support to learners and teachers, higher school fees and more obsolete technology.

• Too many classrooms in Red Deer have 30 or 40 students.

• One year ago, Red Deer schools had 5 RCMP resource officers. Today, they have been cut to one.

• Red Deer Public has 1000 staff for 10,000 students. Red Deer Public has a $100 million budget.

• Red Deer Catholic has 700 staff for 9,000 students. Red Deer Catholic has a $90 million budget.

• Both Red Deer Public and Catholic have similar budget breakdowns: 77% to instruction, 13% to facilities and maintenance, 8% to Transportation, 3% to Administration.

Provincial Education Crisis:

• 19 Growing Alberta School Boards released a joint press release expressing shared concern over how the 2015-1016 budget will have significant effect on student success and the overall education system in Alberta. http://trustees.rockyview.ab.ca/assets/joint-budget-statement

• The new PC budget provides no funding for the 12,000-19,000 new students that are expected to enroll in public education. In fact, it does not provide funding for any of the growth expected over the next three years. This means that school boards will have to stretch every dollar even more every year and serve more students with less money.

• Alberta families paid 142.6 million in school fees in 2012/2013 compared to 46.1 million in 2008-2009. Families will pay more fees for activities, services and supplies as a result of school boards being forced to increase fees to sustain minimum support and services to students and teachers.

• Government is dictating to school boards on how to allocate the budget, taking away any autonomy regarding what is best for students in their own schools and forcing them to make difficult decisions that will affect students and teachers.

• Schools will lose teaching assistants, counsellors, social workers and other support while teachers will have to accommodate larger numbers of students with even more complex needs in their classrooms. 

• Alberta Schools suffer because they do not have sustainable, predictable and sufficient funding.

• Teachers have already agreed to a 3 year pay freeze, now the PCs have announced that teachers pay will be indefinitely frozen until government can balance the budget.

The Alberta Party will:

• fight to build schools, protect our teachers, provide adequate support to learners and reduce class sizes

• reverse the PCs’ cuts to education and guarantee per-student funding to match population growth and inflation.

• invest in new schools to keep pace with Alberta’s population growth.

• phase out school fees

• reduce taxpayer subsidies to private schools that do not serve the public interest.

Serge and Krystal understand:

• Governments who cut education to save money are like farmers who sell their topsoil to pay their bills.

• Education is not an expense -- it’s an investment.

• There is no more fat to cut from the education budgets in Red Deer. The PCs are cutting into bone.

Learn about the Alberta Party’s Better Way:

www.albertaparty.ca

www.krystalkromm.com

www.sergegingras.ca

Join us April 20 for an Education Forum in Red Deer

The Red Deer Public, Red Deer Catholic and Chinook's Edge Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) Locals are hosting an all-candidates social for Red Deer North, Red Deer South and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake constituencies.

Where: Red Deer Lodge

When: Monday, April 20, 2015. 6pm to 9pm.

Albertans know the importance of education, but we also know that Alberta schools next year will have higher class sizes, less support to learners and teachers, higher school fees and more obsolete technology.

Here are some of Serge, Krystal and the Alberta Party's blog posts on education:

The Alberta Party will not punish teachers and nurses

Alberta cannot afford PC's cuts to schools

Alberta needs a strong public sector

Build schools, protect our teachers and reduce class sizes

Vote May 5

May 5 is Election Day in Alberta.

Get in the know.

Get out to vote.

Krystal Kromm - Red Deer North

Serge Gingras - Red Deer South

Alberta Party

Alberta Party Breaks Fundraising Records

The Alberta Party has broken its fundraising record by raising $162,783 as of April 14, 2015. By contrast, the Alberta Party raised a total of $113, 522 in all of 2014.

These record breaking contributions are a clear sign that Albertans want to see Alberta Party MLAs representing them in the Legislature.

The Alberta Party’s Q1 financial report, scheduled to be released by Elections Alberta today, will show that the Alberta Party raised a total of $137,178 ($104,218 by the party and $32,960 by constituency associations) as at March 31, 2015.

You can donate to Krystal Kromm’s Red Deer North campaign here.

You can donate to Serge Gingras’s Red Deer South campaign here.

You can donate to Greg Clark’s Calgary-Elbow campaign here.

Donations to an individual candidate are limited to $2000 per election (up to $10,000 across all registered candidates for a party). Donations to provincial political parties and candidates in Alberta receive generous tax credits. Your tax credit will be 75% of annual donations for the first $200, plus 50% of annual donations between $200 and $1,100, plus 33 1/3% of annual donations between $1,100 and $2,300, to a maximum credit of $1,000/year. For example, a donation of $200 would qualify for a tax credit of $150.

The Alberta Party will not punish teachers and nurses

Yesterday, Jim Prentice announced in Red Deer that if elected the PCs would freeze public sector pay until the budget is balanced.

The Prentice Plan is clear. Hard-working, ordinary Albertans will be made to pay for decades of PC mismanagement.

The PCs have been in government for 44 years. During that time, the price of oil and natural gas has bounced around like a ping pong ball. During their time in power, the PCs have ignored the volatile nature of natural resource revenues and have made our government more dependent than ever on energy revenue.

“Teachers and nurses were too busy teaching children and caring for our loved ones to mismanage Alberta’s fortunes. The PCs messed this up all by themselves,” said Red Deer South Alberta Party candidate Serge Gingras.

“Each and every person working on the front lines of Alberta’s public services has made a fair deal with the government. None more so than teachers, who agreed to a 0% salary increase three years in a row,” said Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark.

“The Alberta Party would not balance the books on the backs of Alberta’s public sector. The Alberta Party would protect frontline services in health and education by balancing the budget over six years. We aren’t going to get out of this mess by punishing our teachers and nurses,” said Red Deer North Alberta Party candidate Krystal Kromm.

Read about the Alberta Party’s Economic Recovery Plan.

Alberta cannot afford PC's cuts to schools

Funding for students in Alberta schools have been cut over the last 5 years. In 2011-2012, school boards had $9,411 per student but funding in 2015-2016 is projected to drop to $9,166.

The PC cuts deepen when inflation is factored in. The gap widens from $8,997 in 2011-2012 down to $8,225 in 2015-2016 -- that’s almost $800 less per student.

“PC cuts to education over the years has forced school boards to nickel and dime families with fees. The Alberta Party would reverse the PC cuts to our schools and eliminate school fees,” said Red Deer South Alberta Party candidate Serge Gingras.

Student enrolment is projected to increase 19,000 kids this fall. That is 90,000 more kids in classrooms since 2008-2009.

“The PCs are not funding our schools to match the rate of inflation and population growth. Governments that cut education to save money are like farmers who sell their topsoil to pay the bills,” said Red Deer North Alberta Party candidate Krystal Kromm.

“Our kids’ education shouldn’t depend on the price of oil. The PCs got us into this situation and now they want students to pay for their mistakes,” said Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark.

The Alberta Party will fight to build schools, protect our teachers and reduce class sizes. Learn about the Alberta Party’s Better Way here.

Check out this powerful video from Support our Students Alberta.

What Education in Alberta looks like today from SOS Alberta on Vimeo.