By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Kenney campaigns in Red Deer

Mar 23, 2019 | 9:57 PM

United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney says the UCP is committed to expanding Red Deer Regional Hospital.

Kenny made the comments as he brought his provincial election campaign to Red Deer on Saturday.

“I cannot understand why the NDP took it off the priority infrastructure list. That was their decision. It was political interference,” he said. “When it comes to determining what the key health infrastructure priorities are, they should be done in a non-political way, based on the local needs, the age of the hospital, and the pressure on that local hospital.

Kenney added that they would make an objective assessment of which Alberta hospitals need to come first.

“Red Deer hospital would absolutely be on our healthcare infrastructure list, and we would proceed forward with that as soon as possible.”

project will take one year

Construction activity to start on hospital parkade expansion

8h ago

Red Deer man charged after police locate stolen vehicle

8h ago

City and County to collaborate on regional economic development with NRED grant

11h ago

“We demand a fair deal” was the rallying cry during Kenney’s rally outside the office for UCP Red Deer-North candidate Adrianna LaGrange.

Earlier, Kenney met with the media outside the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery to make his latest policy announcement, a nine-part ‘Fair Deal for Alberta’ plan.

“I always say that we Albertans are generous, and pride ourselves on helping our fellow Canadians when times are good here and bad elsewhere. But under the Trudeau-Notley alliance, the opposite has been true,” he remarked.

“Just days after the Premier of Quebec pronounced that there was ‘no social acceptability’ for ‘dirty’ Alberta oil, Quebec received a $1.3 billion increase in its equalization payments, despite the fact that Quebec is running a budget surplus while Alberta claims the largest per capita deficit of any province in Canada.”

Kenney also went after Rachel Notley for her comments about Alberta being Canada’s “embarrassing cousin,” which she made shortly after being elected in 2015 with respect to the province’s environmental record.

The nine-part plan starts with equalization reform, for which Kenney is promising a referendum on to use as leverage.

He also wants increased fairness in the Fiscal Stabilization Fund, and to convert Canada Health Transfer and Canada Social Transfer to tax points for provinces.

Among other things, Kenney says a UCP government would also seek an exemption from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s stress test, saying that the one-size-fits-all approach to mortgages by the federal government has had a devastating effect on Albertans.

Kenney says a UCP government would also push for pre-approved guaranteed land corridors for Canadian products to reach market, and it would create a brand new Alberta Parole Board.