ALBERTA VOTES
– Leaders tussle over flood mitigation
CALGARY NDP Leader Rachel Notley pledged more flood protection for Calgary on Friday as she and United Conservative rival Jason Kenney accused each other of dithering on another project to help prevent a repeat of the 2013 deluge that heavily damaged parts of the region.
Notley said if reelected on April 16, her government would invest $1 billion over 10 years on flood diversion along the Bow River upstream from the city. She said three potential projects are already being considered, including two new reservoirs and an extension to another.
That infrastructure would be in addition to the $432-million Springbank dry dam planned for west of Calgary, but the project has faced delays and opposition from some ranchers.
“We know it is the best, fastest, safest and most cost-effective option for Albertans,” Notley said of Springbank as she stood at a viewpoint overlooking the Bow River and downtown Calgary, much of which was submerged in the June 2013 flood.
She accused Kenney of being noncommittal on the Springbank project and suggested UCP candidates have been divided in their support.
“What is clear is that Jason Kenney is not prepared to do what it takes to protect the people in this city. He would turn back the clock on years of work and leave Calgary exposed.”
Kenney said his party supports the Springbank project and will try to speed it up. He pinned the delays on the NDP holding back documents from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
“The NDP’s announcement today is a transparent effort to divert attention from their failure to get Springbank built,” Kenney said.
“They don’t have one shovel in the ground. They are not one inch closer to flood mitigation infrastructure than when they came to office four years ago.”
Kenney spoke in Edmonton at the terminus of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries Alberta petroleum products to the B.C. Lower Mainland. The federal government bought the pipeline last year amid political delays in B.C. to an expansion of the line. A plan to triple its capacity to enable more oilsands exports remains in limbo.
Kenney reiterated the UCP’s intention to fight back against foreign-funded anti-oilsands campaigns that have stymied pipeline development.
The plan would include a war room staffed by mostly public servants to respond to critics in real time and a legal fund to support pro-development First Nations. It would also strip provincial funding from anti-oilsands groups and challenge the charitable status of foundations that funnel foreign money to oilsands critics.
Kenney also said there would be a public inquiry into foreign-funded anti-oilsands activity. It would have an initial budget of $2.5 million and the legal authority to compel witnesses.
“It is time that we have an Alberta government that moves from a passive, reactive and defence posture to a proactive and assertive strategic posture to fight back against the anti-Alberta special interests.”
In Calgary, Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan said the defunct Energy East pipeline to New Brunswick should be restarted, a federal bill overhauling environmental reviews should be amended and the NDP’s plan to ship more oil by rail should be nixed.
And Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel said a government led by him would provide annual dental checkups for children 12 and under. He said he would also work with municipalities to add fluoride to their water.
Candidate emotional after sign defaced
A candidate running for the Alberta Party in next month’s provincial election says she was brought to tears when she learned profanity and racial slurs had been scrawled on one of her large campaign signs.
Joanne Gui says she learned of the vandalism after one of her volunteers came across it in a northwest neighbourhood on Thursday and sent her a photograph.
Gui, who is making her first foray into politics, says she never expected to be attacked for her Chinese ancestry.
She says she has been overwhelmed by messages of support from fellow party members.
Calgary police confirm an investigation is underway into the graffiti.
Albertans go to the polls on April 16.
“In this day and age, this kind of thing is still happening? It’s shocking,” said Gui, who moved to Canada 28 years ago. The Calgary-Edgemont candidate said at first she thought she could handle the vandalism, but that changed when her friends called her.
“I got emotional and cried,” said Gui. “I’m a visible minority but I am Canadian ... as Canadian as everybody who chooses to live in this land.”
The vandalism prompted Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel to condemn the crime.
“In today’s Alberta there is no place for this. It’s quite sickening, to be honest with you,” he said.
Deborah Drever, the NDP candidate for Calgary-Bow, also had one of her signs defaced. She posted a message on Twitter to say someone had written “death to Marxists” on it.
The vandalism to Gui’s sign was spotted on the same day as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.