By rdnewsNOW staff

Miller seeking re-election in 2019

Nov 17, 2018 | 9:41 AM

Red Deer-South MLA Barb Miller will be seeking re-election in 2019.

Miller is in her first term in office after being elected under the NDP banner in 2015. She currently serves as a member on several legislative committees, including the Standing Committee on Families and Communities, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, and the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.

“I decided to run again because the work in Red Deer isn’t done yet. Red Deer was neglected for far too long and we’re just now starting to play catch up from things like the justice centre that was 26 years in the making, we need work done on the hospital, we need more schools,” Miller says.

“Red Deer was bypassed sort of like it was just Gasoline Alley, not a whole community, and we can’t let that happen anymore. I have been very vocal about Red Deer and I will continue to be very vocal about the needs of Red Deer.”

As far as the hospital is concerned, Miller says she’s delivered more than 1200 letters of support from constituents to Health Minister Sarah Hoffman.

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“I told her that if the reports go stale, we’re starting from scratch again, so if it was another year before money came forward to do a business case, then the money spent was a waste. That’s why the money, and I know people were upset saying ‘Oh it’s only a million dollars,’ but that’s what it costs to do a business case,” Miller continues. 

“She (Hoffman) agreed to put the money forward partially in this last budget and the other portion in next year’s budget so they could start right away and we wouldn’t be delayed even further.”

Miller says she has reason to believe that if the UCP are elected, there will be cuts to not just healthcare, but education as well.

“If they cut 20 per cent across the board, I can’t see us getting the hospital expansion. It’ll just make a bad situation worse. I am going to fight so that doesn’t happen. Our seniors, our youngsters, all of the citizens of Red Deer and central Alberta need access to good medical care, and if there are huge cuts, they’re not going to get it.”

Prior to being elected, Miller was a union steward for the United Food and Commercial Workers local 401 and served as Vice President for Central Alberta on the union’s Executive Committee.

Miller was also President of the Red Deer and District Labour Council and she has sat on the Executive Council of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
 

(With file from Alberta NDP website)