MLA for Red Deer-South holds town hall at Alberta Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday. (Supplied)

By Alessia Proietti

Hospital expansion, downtown, and more

MLA Jason Stephan discusses ways to hold government accountable at town hall

Nov 25, 2022 | 1:33 PM

Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan discussed the need for more transparency and accountability in government at his town hall meeting Thursday evening.

Dozens of locals gathered at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (4200 Queen Elizabeth II Highway) to discuss various community priorities.

“Regardless of your political affiliation frankly, I think that all of us want the best for our communities,” he said.

RED DEER REGIONAL HOSPITAL

In November, the Infrastructure Minister provided an update on the site for the hospital expansion, stating construction plans were to add additional floors to the hospital for more beds as well as a new building for Ambulatory Care Services at a nearby parking lot, with the completed timeline on schedule for 2030/31. Stephan said the project is in the design phase with AHS.

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Stephan says the government now needs to be held accountable throughout the process to ensure they are staying on track by creating a timeline with specific milestones to achieve and share with the public.

He said Alberta Health Services should be treated the same way. He believes they should be held accountable to the public through an established set of key performance indicators and by holding their own town halls.

DOWNTOWN

Stephan expressed his concerns about Red Deer’s Overdose Prevention Site (OPS), initially brought under the NDP government in 2018. He said as a father, he would want to see his child recover if faced with addiction and that services such as the OPS undermine recovery. He said he is pleased to see new facilities such as the recovery community in the North end and the Red Deer Dream Centre that “begin with the end goal in mind”.

READ: Temporary overdose prevention site planned for Red Deer

One downtown business owner shared during question period several events faced on his property ranging from threats with weapons, vandalism and witnessing of carjackings causing injury. Holding a USB stick with video footage of what he claims is his most recent property offender, and easily identifiable as a man he has seen several times at a nearby harm reduction site, he asked Stephan if he would hold the facility accountable. Stephan responded he would also present the footage to the Addictions Minister.

INDEPENDENCE

Stephan told locals that one of the first bills to be introduced at Premier Danielle Smith’s first legislative session on Tuesday will be the Sovereignty Act. He believes the bill supports Alberta’s culture of freedom and prosperity and maintains their jurisdictional powers.

“I’ve never seen a partnership where the partnership seeks to attack and weaken their rainmaker partner because we are, in Alberta, the rainmaker partner,” he said.

Stephan said the Alberta Pension Plan was another opportunity for the province, as Alberta businesses contribute large amounts to the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP). In 2019 a Fraser Institute study found Albertans disproportionality contributed to the CPP. Stephan claims these payments are a deterrent for hiring and the funds could stay within province, providing the same benefits at less cost under the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMco), who manages current pensions for public service in the province.

READ: Kenney, NDP trade barbs on pitch for Alberta to quit CPP, build own pension plan

A local resident questioned the trustworthiness of AIMco following a $4 billion loss in 2020 due to volatile investments. Stephan responded that while AIMco has done well overall, the loss was unacceptable. He suggests one way to regain public confidence would be to mandate index investing to prevent risk and ensure more certainty.

Regarding affordability, a 22-year-old local roofer of Pilipino decent questioned Stephan about how he would increase representation among minority groups and youth in government and close the wealth gap.

Stephan said not only would he like to have more discussions with young adults at post-secondary schools to hear their opinions, he believes one way to increase employment among minorities would be to align them with industries where skills are needed. He claims Red Deer Polytechnic is advantageous as many trades, education and nursing skills are in high demand and the institution offers high quality programs in these domains.

“Minorities have the sort of advantage of hard work because we kind of have a chip on our shoulder and so trades are actually a great opportunity because we love working hard. We’re willing to work hard because we come from pretty much poverty and that is a great place to make money,” the resident said.

“Anyone who wants to work hard and be a part of Alberta is welcome,” said Stephan.

Stephan also discussed equalization payments in relation to electricity costs in Alberta and Quebec.

The UCP Constituency Association’s Annual General Meeting will be held on December 8 at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.