Lethbridge-East Candidate Profile – Nathan Neudorf – United Conservative Party

Where do you stand on the Supervised Consumption Site, and how do you believe the drug crisis in Lethbridge can best be resolved?

“I believe that it is a crisis, and it can best be resolved by taking a comprehensive look at a drug-addiction strategy. Right now, we’ve really focused on harm reduction, and that’s about all. But we know that drug addiction strategies have four pillars; prevention is one. We really need to focus on that. Enforcement is the third. And again, talk to our police officers. They need help and support. And then the last one is treatment; which we all agree we need more treatment. And we can’t just to a knee-jerk reaction. It’s like building a house one room at a time. It doesn’t make sense. What we need to do is see how all four of those work together, come up with a comprehensive plan that all stakeholders agree to speak into, whether it’s a municipality, the surrounding businesses, police services, EMS, ER, and then make sure that we get that answer right before we start spending money.”

Do you support the funding announcements made in December 2018 about supportive housing and intox/detox spaces?

“At this point, without knowing all of the details on a level of understanding the need yes, we do. But obviously if there’s a change in government, we need to take that as that number comes up and attribute that funding appropriately. And again, we would rather pause on funding to make sure we have the correct answer first, before we just put money into something and then have to redo it. Maybe there would be a change in location, maybe not. Maybe there would be a better place for wrap-around services. How we do that, will really impact how those dollars are spent. So, we just want to make sure we don’t put the cart before the horse.”

Lethbridge has been sheltered compared to other parts of the province when it comes to the economic downturn, but jobs remain a key issue in this election.

What is your party proposing when it comes to economic issues, and what policy are you championing as something that will help the people of Lethbridge?

“That is the core of our platform, it is jobs, the economy and pipelines. And there is a trickle-down effect. The overall economy shrinks, and we feel that. And we do have a housing crisis in Lethbridge. That is probably one of the predominant ones. We don’t have the market, because people aren’t moving here for jobs. So, we want to make sure we support all business – particularly small business – so the job creation tax cut, red tape reduction, repealing the carbon tax…. all of theses things, really focused on getting the economy going again by inviting that investment back into Alberta. And we do have numerous business people here who have worked in our oil and gas sector. I talked to a young man just a couple of weeks ago. He’s now working in Texas because he can’t find a job in Alberta. So, that means he’s spending money to go down there. He’s spending money there and not spending it here. And we need, whether it’s 1,2,3, 10 or 100. Those jobs matter in a small city like Lethbridge. So that’s why I believe we’re all connected. I believe that’s really tied to our whole economic situation.”

How do you view the health care system in the province in 2019, and what would your party do if elected to improve it?

“We have committed to maintaining funding for healthcare so that those budgets and those departments can keep moving ahead, that are inside of healthcare. And then we really want to work closely with Alberta Health Services. They have recommendations for cost saving measures. They’re the experts and we trust them to find efficiencies, make changes inside that don’t result in job cuts because there is a demand on our health care system that we need. Our population needs that. That’s why we’ve committed to maintaining it. It’s the most prudent thing we can do. We can’t afford to spend more; we can not cut. So, maintaining spending and allowing us to focus on growing the economy to bring that level so that we can sustain that, so we can grow that and develop it. And then taking advise from the experts who work in that system all the time. That’s the direction we want to head with healthcare.”

From three weeks of the polar vortex, to grass fires at the start of spring, Lethbridge and southern Alberta are bearing the brunt of climate change.

Where does your party rank dealing with climate as an issue, and what are your plans to protect the agriculture and farming industries that will be impacted?

“We want to repeal the Carbon Tax because it doesn’t work for normal, regular, everyday Albertans in their residences. But we still keep a carbon tax on high emitters who are responsible for 60 per cent of the carbon emissions in the province. So, we really want to work with them to reduce those emissions by 10 per cent the first year and increasing by one per cent each year after that. And setting up what we call a TIER Fund; a technology, innovation, energy renewal fund that can fund new technologies and innovation through research, to help us get better. We really take that seriously. We really do want to have a plan that works both for private individuals as well as industry. And we want to make sure we make a difference and we can be global leaders. We were global leaders in oil and gas before, and we want to be again. And agriculture is incredibly significant to us. So many farmers spend so much on carbon tax because of just the nature of their business. We don’t want to inhibit them in that way. Their job is to grow the food that we eat and the beef and the dairy and all these great things, so we really need to support our agriculture industry.”

Southern Alberta has been described as a leader when it comes to green energy, from wind turbines to solar panels.

Will you commit to keeping and improving Energy Efficiency Alberta, and if not, what are your plans for the industry?

“At this point, we’re happy if that industry can compete on a market basis, and we’d love for the technology to continue to grow and change. We do want to make sure we do that transition in a wise way. We want to make sure our coal industry is sustained for energy generation and make sure its emissions are as good as gas, so that we are responsible in that, because it’s about energy generation – we really need power generation. So, whatever way we can do, as long as it’s competitive – and we can’t subsidize it at this point, especially with our finances the way they are. But if they can compete, we’re open to all of those kinds of renewable and new technologies coming into play. We really want to be in the forefront of technology and innovation and research.”

Recently comments have emerged from candidates about homophobia, white nationalism, and anti-muslim/refugee rhetoric.

What is your party doing to raise tolerance and civility regarding public office, and what are your views on the LGBTQ community?

“Any of those comments – that’s just not – there’s just no room for them anywhere. We are a big tent party. We believe in supporting all facets of our society. Making sure everyone has equal access to the rights and services that they need. And I’ve talked to many members of the LGBTQ+ community and want to make sure that they have an open door – if I’m fortunate enough to win – that they would be able to come and meet with me, and talk with me anytime. We want to make sure that they’re well represented; fairly, and they have a voice as well.”

For more details on the specifics of the United Conservative Party platform, you can go here. (https://www.albertastrongandfree.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Alberta-Strong-and-Free-Platform-1.pdf)

by Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Lethbridge-East Candidate Profile – Nathan Neudorf – United Conservative Party

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