Alberta Party to pick Brooks-MH candidate Nov. 21
By Gillian Slade on October 27, 2018.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com @MHNGillianSlade The Alberta Party’s candidate for the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding in the next election will be determined Nov. 21. At this stage the only declared contestant for the nomination appears to be Jim Black, a retired school teacher who currently teaches at an alternative night school in Bow Island. However, it does not mean Black faces an acclamation on Nov. 21. There are one or two others who have expressed an interest in running in the Brooks-Medicine Hat Riding or the Cypress-Medicine Hat riding, and Black says he feels competition is always healthy. Key election campaign issues, Black has consistently felt, will be the provincial debt, the carbon tax and the state of health care. The Alberta Party is proposing some changes to the carbon tax, including more transparency. Black says there needs to be a separate budget line showing this stream of revenue and how it is being spent. “So that everybody knows how much was collected and how it is being used, rather than burying it in general revenue,” said Black, who would also like to see this revenue used to support research and development for alternative and renewable forms of energy. “There are lots of Albertans with good ideas who just need an incentive to get going.” A breakdown of revenue and expenditures from the carbon levy is available at http://www.alberta.ca/climate/carbon-pricing.aspx. The website also explains the portions of carbon levy revenue used by the government to fund the advancement of renewable energy. Black feels grants for research and development may need to be increased to be a more meaningful contribution and incentive. When it comes to health care, local decision-making still needs to be considered, he says, but that does not mean returning to full regional boards with each having its own corporate structure. “You don’t need a CAO for each district but there has to be local decision making,” he explained. The Alberta Party’s nominated candidate, chosen in November, will be running against UCP candidate Michaela Glasgo in the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding. No other parties have declared contestants or candidates in this riding according to the Elections Alberta website. The Brooks-Medicine Hat riding covers the whole of the north side of Medicine Hat, north of the South Saskatchewan River, plus a portion of the city south of the river. This includes all people living in Harlow, River Heights and the hospital area. It includes those on the north side of Gershaw Drive, up to the river. The boundary to the east in S. Railway Street and on the west side of the Trans-Canada Highway. 15
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