I am honored to receive an endorsement from the Conservation Voters of Alberta. Conservation Voters of Alberta is a non-partisan organization dedicated to raising the profile of environmental issues in Alberta.

I believe that we must move towards a greener future, and that politicians must ensure this. If elected I will work towards a more sustainable Alberta, not only for us but for our children.

The Endorsement.
Responses to survey questions.

The Calgary Sun, February 27th 2008

The lack of quality health care is what NDP candidate Tyler Kinch is hoping will motivate voters to support his party.

“What I mainly find at the doorstep is people talking about the lack of funding for public services in their community, specifically health care facilities,” he said.

“A lot of the communities don’t really have close health care facilites or properly funded health care facilities.”

The delays to the south Calgary hospital and higher price tag have left many voters feeling irked, said Kinch.

“I think the Progressive Conservatives really fumbled on this one and they should have been more prepared for new communities, building new health care facilities and also training doctors and nurses to staff them,” he said.

“I think we need a government that has a vision and I think the NDP has that.”

A renter himself, Kinch said affordability is another serious issue that needs to be addressed.

“Household budgets are getting strained more and more every day,” he said.

“A lot of the constituents are younger families just buying their first homes on their first mortgage,” he said.

“They’re being faced with struggles because they’re working, middle-class families and I think different things such as health care premiums being scrapped right away and a public auto insurance program could help them out.

“We need a government that looks after the interests of middle class families.”

Link to story.

The environment is a very important issue in this election campaign. People rely on the environment for their homes, jobs and most importantly life. Without a government that puts the environment on their priority list, we will see a drop in our quality of life as people get sick from polluted air and our water gets dirtier.

The economy is also an important part of people’s lives. We depend on it so that we can afford to have our necessities met and our luxuries fulfilled. However, without a healthy environment our economy is in jeopardy. We can create a prosperous province, while protecting our environment.

That’s why the NDP is proposing that we use the increased royalty rates to research and develop alternative energy such as wind, solar and geo-thermal. The NDP will ensure that “green” collar jobs are created with this initiative, allowing our economy to be strong and our air and water to be clean.

Also, we must live up to our international obligations. We must have stronger greenhouse gas emissions regulations and enforcement in the oil-patch. The Conservative’s intensity based targets will not cut it as they allow pollution levels to rise. We must implement hard emission caps, that allows us to get pollution under control and reduced.

It’s time to get more out of your government. I promise I will work hard as an MLA to ensure that the government is working on your side.

This past week Brian Mason, Alberta NDP Leader, announced a plan that will save hospitals, families and seniors money.

What Mason called for was the creation of a pharmaceutical agency to purchase drugs in bulk, negotiate rates with drug companies and find inexpensive generic options to brand name drugs.

This idea would save the government millions per year in drugs purchased by the province’s health regions. New Zealand first implemented this idea, and they spend about half of what we do on drugs. These savings could then be put into an improved Pharmacare plan for seniors.

Right now, seniors pay up to $25 per prescription. But many seniors have multiple prescriptions. With a fixed income, it can be difficult for seniors to pay hundreds of dollars in prescription costs each month. Under the NDP’s plan, the cap would be $25/month per person. Saving seniors hundreds of dollars, while giving seniors the dignity and respect they deserve.

Liberals and Progressive Conservatives can not be trusted with any promises for perscription drug reform, due to resistance from the many drug companies and insurance agencies who donate considerably to the two parties.

The NDP is the only party that stands up for ordinary Albertans and their families.

More information about the NDP’s perscription drug plan.

One thing I would like to shed light on in this election as a candidate is what I like to call, Alberta’s hidden debt. I’ve been told on many occasions that I should be thanking the Progressive Conservatives for getting Alberta out of debt. I beg to differ.

The Progressive Conservatives did not invent oil. Our province is rich in resources, but the government has actually mismanaged our resources and short changed the citizens of this province

To get back to what I call Alberta’s hidden debt; I do not believe that Alberta is as debt free as the financial books would have us believe. Sure, we may not owe any money to creditors, but we do owe a lot to ourselves. We are still living the effects of the Klein cutbacks that happened more than a decade ago, while Ed Stelmach was a cabinet minister. With older schools crumbling and newer communities without schools, how can the Progressive Conservatives say that we are debt free? Our infrastructure has not kept up with our growing cities. Our public healthcare system needs improvement. So many communities in this province have poor access to health care facilities. Our debt is in the essential services that everyday Albertans deserve. Albertans demand better.

We can have change in this province! I am proud to be a candidate who will fight for this change.

The Alberta NDP is the only party standing up for ordinary Albertans. The Progressive Conservatives and Liberals can promise all they want to the people of this province, but when they take corporate donations, they have someone else to pay back first before delivering on their promises to the people of this province. Only the NDP refuses donations from corporations, as we can see the clear conflict of interest this brings into politics. We want big money out of politics, by banning corporate and union donations. It’s time to make politics fair.

I hope that I can be a refreshing choice for the voters in Calgary Hays. I believe that an elected official should serve the people who elected him/her. If elected, I will fight everyday for my constituents.

I hope that I can count on your vote.