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Alberta conservatives eye flat tax, private health delivery in draft policies

The Alberta Legislature. Global News

Alberta’s governing NDP says draft policy ideas put forward by the Opposition United Conservative Party are risky and would benefit the wealthy, but the UCP calls that baseless fearmongering.

The UCP is holding its founding convention in May to hammer out its policy platform but in the meantime has released draft proposals.

READ MORE: Jason Kenney wins United Conservative Party leadership 

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The ideas include a return to the 10 per cent flat tax scrapped by the NDP, along with reducing or cutting other taxes and scrapping the carbon levy.

READ MORE: Crude Alberta gas station sign takes aim at Premier Notley, Trudeau over carbon tax 

The UCP says it will respect Canada’s publicly funded health system but will explore private delivery of services in the public system to improve care and reduce wait times.

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READ MORE: UCP leadership candidates promise health-care reform in Alberta 

Finance Minister Joe Ceci says the United Conservative plan would punish taxpayers by favouring wealthy wage earners at the expense of the rest, labelling the overall plan “risky and extreme.”

But Janice Harrington, executive director of the UCP, says the policies are simply starting points for discussion, and that the NDP is simply trying to stoke fear and anxiety.

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