From questions on combating rural crime to revitalizing the oil industry, candidates answered it all as the Alberta Party leadership race stopped in Bonnyville.
Residents and representatives from municipalities across the region gathered at ACFA Régionale de Bonnyville-Cold Lake for the meet and greet on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Unlike many other stops along the campaign tour, candidates were made to adapt on the fly, with questions flowing freely from the floor.
After opening statements, Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski started the discussion, asking candidates what they would do to balance the distribution of grant funding.
“In previous governments, it seems grants were divided into thirds. One-third for Calgary, one-third for Edmonton and the rest for rural Alberta, and we all have to fight for the crumbs to upgrade ageing infrastructure. What do you, as candidates, propose to reverse that trend?” questioned Sobolewski.
Calgary-South East MLA, and Alberta Party leadership candidate, Rick Fraser agreed there could be a flaw in the decision-making process when it comes to infrastructure dollars. To help level the playing field, Fraser said the province needs to look beyond population when deciding where to allocate money.
“One way to address that is to go to per-capita funding, so it's appropriate for the amount of people in the town. But the government has to look at areas in the province that have been hit harder by the economic downturn in the oil industry. If you just go by simple numbers, that's easy, because you're just feeding into your large centres,” Fraser explained.
Former mayor of Edmonton Stephen Mandel, who is also a candidate, would have the infrastructure funding formula revisited. He would want the province focus on areas that need replacing, above regions with a large populous.
“It's age that should determine the criteria for funding. If you don't need to replace infrastructure, you're giving out money for shiny pennies,” noted Mandel.
From there, the conversation shifted towards creating investment in the struggling oil industry. One resident suggested the elimination of the carbon levy might help attract investors.
None of the candidates were opposed to a possible reduction, but warned against getting rid of the tax entirely.
“Capital has feet and goes where it wants. We need to find ways to attract that capital back here, so people can see long-term they get a long-term rate of return on their investment. We can get rid of part of the carbon tax but we have to be realistic. We live in a low carbon world, and we have to show that we care about these issues,” Mandel said.
Fellow candidate, Calgary-based lawyer Kara Levis, agreed the province should be supporting its largest industry, but believes it's time to take a serious look at other eco-friendly energy sources.
Given transportation restrictions and the current upswing among American oil companies, Levis would look to expand the methods utilized within the province.
“Our differential with Western Canada Select is huge, and it's bigger than it has been in the past. That's partly because we're landlocked and partly because of what we're facing in the northeast United States,” said Levis. “While supporting businesses that continue to make a go of it, we need to be ready to allow the market to invest in new green technologies.”
With each candidate's plan for the oil patch laid out, the crowd questioned how the Alberta Party would deal with reducing rural crime.
For regions that have a lot of ground for the local RCMP to cover, Levis put forward the idea of a unit focused solely on individual municipalities.
“The RCMP are covering a huge area. People don't know if there's an officer anywhere near where they're having an issue, and they don't know how long it will take them to get there. There may be some value to having a police force that's dedicated to your community,” said Levis.
Many called for reform to the way policing units are allocated and paid for across the province. While many Alberta communities have their policing subsidized, municipalities like the Town of Bonnyville pay $1.5-million annually for the service.
“Funding for police is an arbitrary number that can be adjusted. It's not fair to have one neighbour paying more than the next. I think there's a better formula for this. This has been an issue for smaller towns. If we charge the 50 per cent of municipalities that are getting it free, I think we could come up with a better formula,” stated Mandel.
Despite going head-to-head in a leadership race, there was no hostility among the three options. Instead of breaking down their opponents' campaign, candidates built off of each other's answers and worked with the crowd.
All three expressed gratitude for the opportunity to converse with the public in an open discussion, as opposed to dealing with prepared questions. They hope to see a similar response from the public when it comes time to select the next leader of the Alberta Party, on Feb. 27.
“This had a little more of a debate style, but it was very friendly. It's great to see the turnout and the discussion that came from it. It's great for us to get out into rural Alberta and talk to people on the street. For this many people to show up on a cold night in February shows a lot of promise,” expressed Fraser.
