By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

Coaldale election forum draws a crowd Wednesday night

Apr 11, 2019 | 12:35 AM

COALDALE —  If pavement pounding, door-knocking, probing queries and forum fatigue are taking a toll on some provincial election candidates, it wasn’t evident at a gathering in Coaldale Wednesday (Apr 10) evening.

All four candidates vying to represent the Taber-Warner riding in Tuesday’s provincial election were present and prepared for the Coaldale and District Chamber of Commerce forum. Their preparation wasn’t wasted, as it was standing-room only at the community centre, when more than 200 residents showed up to hear from the various party members. Those candidates included NDP representative Laura Ross-Giroux, Jason Beekman for the Alberta Party, Amy Yates for the Liberals and United Conservative Party (UCP) member Grant Hunter.

While this campaign has been fraught with negativity and personal attacks synonymous with Donald Trump style politics, which has lowered the bar of decorum, this night’s forum began on a congenial note, with polite interactions and one candidate offering Happy Birthday wishes to Jason Beekman.  Civility continued, to a certain extent, as the forum moved forward.  But, the blunt jabs quickly surfaced, primarily between the two perceived top runners, with NDP candidate Ross-Giroux picking up the negative attacks of her party leader and opening an opportunity for UCP member Grant Hunter to negate false accusations and defend his party’s platform.

The over-riding topic of the forum revolved around jobs and the economy – and the manner in which each party would handle the issues. For the most part, the candidates stuck to the ‘party line’.

Three of the candidates expressed a desire to have the province return to the “Alberta Advantage” while NDP candidate Ross-Giroux felt that advantage still existed. However, Hunter pointed to the mass departure of major businesses in Calgary, due to a higher taxes under the NDP.

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When asked if any of the parties have a plan to bring in a PST, Hunter stated a perfunctory “No”; Beekman said no to a PST but, better fiscal oversight; and Yates admitted the Liberal party plans to bring in the tax. The NDP’s Ross-Giroux stated, “I make to apology for the Carbon Tax.”

All the candidates agreed that diversifying the economy was important, while continuing to work on a new pipeline to get Alberta oil to the west coast.  However, there was a difference in opinion on how that should be done. The NDP wants to help finance that diversification, while the Alberta Party and the UCP want to see taxes cut, to stimulate the return of corporate investment in Alberta, to stimulate the economy and generate new jobs.

On the issue of Farm Bill 6, both Hunter and Beekman agreed there was not adequate consultation with actual farmers, which is still needed. Hunter noted the UCP would repeal the bill and give farmers the  opportunity to choose between having private insurance of utilizing the services of the Workers Compensation Board. Both candidates also agree there wasn’t proper consultation with off-road and back-country users.  While they feel it is necessary to protect Crown land and make users more accountable, Hunter said it isn’t fair to punish 99-per cent of the users for the one per cent who create all the problems.  Beekman supports added user fees for those using trails and the backcountry.

All party’s supported GSA’s (Gay-Straight Alliances in schools), with Beekman and Hunter noting there should not be a political issue at point.  While Ross-Giroux agreed it should not be politicized, she offered no recognition that it was her party which continued to raise the issue in social media.

When Ross-Giroux point the finger at the UCP education plans, Hunter pointed out that his party has repeatedly stated it would maintain health care and education funding, even increasing it when needed. Both Hunter and Beekman agreed that the best prescription for the economy and supporting business was to cut red tape and have government get out of the way of small business and potential innovators.

The biggest applause for the night went to Grant Hunter, who simply stated, “We need to stop taxing people so much!”