Lacombe-Ponoka Wildrose Party candidate Rod Fox said it’s time a government was elected that will put Alberta on solid financial footing again.
“We need to return our province to being out of debt and deficits. We need to come back to a balanced budget and cut wasteful spending and start saving again in our Heritage Trust Fund.”
The Wildrose Party presented alternative budgets when the last two provincial deficit budgets were released, showing that the books could be balanced.
The government also needs to do better on health care. “Despite big budget increases and changes to our system, our access to quality care is worse than ever. I want to work as an MLA to make health care work again by improving access, increasing health care providers and finding new and innovative ways of delivering patient care under the principles of the Canadian Health Act.”
Health care funding that follows the patient is among the ways his party will improve the system.
Electricity rates are also a big issue in the riding, which is still largely rural, he said.
“We want to put families first, help lower their power bills by reducing transmission costs and create a level playing field for generators.”
The Wildrose Party would reform how power is bought and sold in Alberta and protect consumers by creating a hedged regulated rate that smooths out pricing peaks.
Fox, 31, who is an insurance and finance sales manager for the four western provinces for IFS Inc. Premier Finance, the largest Canadian-owned insurance premium finance company, said he has built a career on listening to what customers want and finding solutions.
“This is something we’ve been lacking in our previous government,” said Fox, who has been actively involved in federal politics with Wetaskiwin MP Blaine Calkins and ran in the 2007 municipal election in Lacombe.
The father of two lives in Lacombe.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com