NOTLEY TO FOCUS ON JOB CREATION, ECONOMY IN 2018
The NDP government isn’t slamming the brakes on its policy agenda or jerking the wheel to the right. But it will be driving a little more to the centre of the political road in 2018 as Albertans head closer to the 2019 provincial election.
In a year-end interview Monday, Premier Rachel Notley spent less time talking about United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney and more time explaining what she needs to do to convince Albertans she’s focused on the economy.
“We have to be able to deliver on diversification and we have to be able to deliver on job creation and we need to ensure the economic growth is also sustainable,” said Notley. “These are all big pieces and they matter to people. It sounds boring when you talk about it, but it actually comes down to whether mom and dad sitting around the table are both feeling confident about their ability to earn a certain amount of money every month as they’re planning their budget. That’s really where we have to get to. I don’t think we’re there yet.”
“Mom and dad” sounds like the NDP version of Ralph Klein’s “Martha and Henry” that he’d allude to as a way of assuring average Albertans (or, as Klein called them, “severely normal Albertans”) that he always had their best interests at heart.
Klein, though, never had to deal with the kind of dismal public opinion polling numbers currently dogging the Notley government.
If an election were held today, the NDP would be stranded on Island Edmonton.
But an election is not coming today, or tomorrow, or even next year.
That gives Notley hope she can turn things around by focusing on the economy, jobs and providing a road map to balance the budget.
A key issue is what she calls “compassionate belt-tightening,” which sounds like an oxymoron, but is something Notley will be emphasizing throughout 2018.
“We have to look at what matters to that family that’s sitting at the table, what’s going to make things better for them or worse for them in terms of their ability to plan their life, and what are things that maybe we don’t need right now that can be pushed out a little bit.”
She does not offer examples. We’ll have to wait for the provincial budget in the spring for that.
Talking about compassionate belt-tightening, though, gives her an opportunity to briefly steer the interview obliquely toward Kenney.
“It’s a contrast to this notion we’re going to do an across-theboard 20 per cent cut — that’s ridiculous, this notion that you can just come up with a rule across the board and then just implement it without it being hurtful. But it’s stupid and it drives stupid decisions.”
Notley is accusing Kenney of supporting a 20-per-cent cut to government spending across the board. But Kenney has never actually said that.
He has said he wants the Alberta government to move toward a level of per-capital spending on par with British Columbia.
Notley said B.C. spends 20 per cent less per capita than Alberta — therefore Kenney wants a 20 per cent cut (B.C. also taxes more than Alberta, but that’s another column for another day). It has become a rhetorical tug of war between Notley and Kenney (who denies he’d slash spending by one-fifth across the board).
What we need to see are spending and belt-tightening plans, compassionate or otherwise, from both the NDP and UCP.
Maybe that will happen in 2018. One thing we can count on is an escalation of the political rhetoric.
“Ultimately, it’s not about me and it’s not about Jason Kenney; it’s about the two different visions we have for the province,” said Notley.
“That contrast will probably come into greater focus over the course of the next 12 to 18 months. I hope that it remains focused on the issues and the visions and the plans for the future and not about the personalities. But politics is what politics is.”
And Alberta politics has long been focused more on personalities than policies. I’m betting 2018 will be the same, no matter in what direction Notley takes her government.
Ultimately, it’s not about me and it’s not about Jason Kenney; it’s about the two different visions we have for the province.