Former minister of children’s services and candidate in the United Conservative Party leadership race, Rebecca Schulz was in Lethbridge campaigning this week. She said though she loves representing Calgary-Shaw, she feels strongly about the future of the province as a whole and hopes to bring unity to the party.
“I know that Albertans also want to see a government that will continue to defend Alberta’s constitutional rights in this country as well as focus on our continued economic growth and diversification,” Schulz said.
“That said, people have felt like we have in some ways lost our way, especially when it has come to the tone of government and I think that’s something that we can absolutely improve on. I think we have been through a really difficult time, but I think people are tired of division and want to move forward with hope and optimism as we move forward.”
Schulz said she believes the province needs to fix relationships with healthcare professionals and work to fix the doctor shortage. This, and education are important to her, while also being responsible with taxpayer money, she said.
“I think we need some creative solutions. Issues of rural docs, for example, is not something that is unique to Alberta — it’s something that we see across the country so we have to think of some creative and innovative new ways of making sure that we are attracting rural students into those training programs and then hopefully getting them back into their home communities.”
Schulz said she wants to help Albertans struggling with the rising cost of living, but she is not interested in capping car insurance costs or working on lower tuition for post-secondary schooling.
“We saw caps on insurance under the NDP government, that’s not something that is sustainable although I understand Albertans’ very real concerns with the growing cost of living.”
She said as a leader, she would look at working to help people living on assured income for the severely handicapped (AISH).
READ MORE: Lethbridge MLA calls on UCP to reverse cuts to AISH
“I think Albertans right across the province are struggling with the cost of living right now and inflation and affordability is something that definitely needs to be addressed. We haven’t rolled out or specific platform just yet on that but I mean that is something that I would look at in the future.”
ALSO READ: Travis Toews UCP leadership campaign tour stops in Lethbridge
Schulz said restoring and maintaining relationships with municipalities to collaborate on issues such as homelessness is important.
“The government has done a lot in terms of consulting with partners, especially within Lethbridge on those specific issues. I think there are a couple of things that are top of mind. We need to make sure that businesses are able to operate,” she said. “I also know that mental health and addictions is an extremely serious issue that needs to be addressed, we need to focus on creating mental health and addiction treatment spaces.”
RELATED: Funding biggest barrier for helping homeless population: Mayor Hyggen