Future voters may punish UCP over stance on GSAs

Calgary UCP candidate Jeremy Wong provided a blast from the past when he used an old Calgary skyline in campaign materials.

Wong replaced former UCP candidate Caylan Ford, who quit the race after online posts surfaced where she suggested white supremacist terrorists are treated unfairly.

Wong’s campaign flyers show a dated downtown Calgary skyline. Skyscrapers like the Bow tower are noticeably absent, while the Flames home arena is labelled Pengrowth Saddledome. It was rebranded the Scotiabank Saddledome in 2010.

“UCP out here livin in the past (sic),” one Reddit user commented.

Wong previously came under fire for a clip of a sermon posted by the NDP in which he talks about women submitting to their husbands.

LIBERALS UNVEIL PLATFORM

Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan says he would give municipalities a veto over oil and gas drilling within their boundaries if his party wins the April 16 election.

That would allow local governments to plan for safe and sustainable growth and development, he said Wednesday.

Khan said he would provide municipalities greater autonomy by amending the Municipal Government Act to formally recognize them as “a new order of government.”

New revenue-generating powers would go to Edmonton and Calgary, and those cities and their voters would be free to make decisions on taxes and spending. A Liberal government would open talks with smaller municipalities to come up with similar powers.

Khan says he would also create an equitable cannabis revenue-sharing model.

“The NDP government has unfairly compensated cities on cannabis sales relative to the costs they are incurring for legalization,” he said in a release Wednesday.

FCP AGAINST DAM PROJECT

Freedom Conservative Party Leader Derek Fildebrandt came out against the Springbank dam project on Wednesday, saying he will fight “tooth and nail” to prevent it from being built.

Speaking at a campaign stop in Balzac, north of Calgary, Fildebrandt argued the project is not cost-effective, nor is it the best flood mitigation option for Calgary.

“It will unduly trample upon the property rights of landowners in the area, many of which have been there for generations,” he said.

Last week, NDP Leader Rachel Notley said her party would pour $1 billion into defences on the Bow River, which would complement the Springbank dry dam aimed at controlling flood waters on the Elbow River. A re-elected NDP government would examine three options — a reservoir built upstream at Morley, a reservoir near the city’s western edge, or expanding the capacity of the Ghost Reservoir.

UCP Leader Jason Kenney and deputy leader Leela Aheer were ambivalent about the Springbank project earlier this month.

Municipal flood experts and city officials have identified Springbank reservoir as a priority when it comes to flood protection, particularly for the downtown area.

The Tsuut’ina Nation has come out against the project based on concerns that it could pollute groundwater and put reserve lands at risk in the event of another flood.