Global News has projected a majority government for Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party.
Here’s a look at some of the main promises Kenney made before and throughout the election campaign that helped the UCP gain support.
Scrap the carbon tax
One of the first things the UCP has vowed to do as government is scrap the NDP’s carbon tax.
The UCP said Bill 1: The Carbon Tax Repeal Act would scrap the tax on “everything,” creating 6,000 jobs.
The party plans to replace the tax with a program targeting large emitters of greenhouse gases.
The new program would be titled Technology Innovation and Emissions Reductions, or TIER, and take effect Jan. 1, 2020.
It is similar to the old Specified Gas Emitters Regulation program launched by the Progressive Conservatives in 2007, and replaced by the NDP in 2018.
Under the plan, facilities with emissions higher than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide will have to reduce the intensity of those emissions starting at 10 per cent, and increasing by one per cent per year.
If not, they can buy credits or offsets, or pay into a fund that will study ways to reduce GHG emissions.
The party has also promised to file a formal court challenge of the federal carbon tax no later than April 30.
Watch below: Danielle Smith, Ryan Jesperson, Duane Bratt and Dallas Flexhaug discuss Premier-designate Jason Kenney’s speech and how he threw down the gauntlet to his competitors.
Repeal Bill 6
The UCP said it will introduce The Farm Freedom and Safety Act, which would repeal Bill 6, the NDP’s farm and ranch workplace legislation.
The UCP said the party will immediately begin “comprehensive consultation” with farmers, ranchers, agriculture workers on how best to balance the “unique economic pressure of farming with the need for a common sense, flexible farm safety regime.
Kenney said The Farm Freedom and Safety Act would require employers to maintain workplace insurance for farm workers, but allow employers to choose whether to purchase insurance from the market or from the WCB as long as basic standards of coverage are met for things like medical and return-to-work support services.
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The legislation would exempt small farms from employment legislation while ensuring basic safety standards, the UCP said.
The UCP said The Farm Freedom and Safety Act will be passed into law in 2019.
‘Get Albertans back to work’
The UCP has vowed to get Albertans back to work by introducing the Red Tape Reduction Plan, which the party said will cut red tape by one-third in order to reduce costs and speed up regulatory approvals for various projects.
The party said it will appoint a minister to the file, as well as form industry panels to identify unnecessary red tape in every sector of Alberta’s economy.
Watch below: Former Interim Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Rona Ambrose joins Joel Senick to discuss Jason Kenney’s Alberta election win.
Find efficiencies in the health-care system
The UCP said it will maintain or increase health spending and maintain a universally-accessible, publicly-funded system. However, the party said it will also explore private delivery options for some procedures.
Kenney said his government would launch a third-party review of Alberta Health Services to target redundancies and inefficiencies in 4,000 management positions. A health spending review will also be done to find $200 million in administrative savings, Kenney said.
Get Alberta’s books out of the red
Kenney’s platform promised to get Alberta’s books out of the red and into a $714-million surplus by 2023 — a year earlier than the NDP.
The UCP projects that if it wins the election, the budget for 2019-20 would show a $7.4-billion deficit, including borrowing to pay for operations.
The party said that would be followed by a $6.6-billion deficit the following year, then $4 billion in the red, before finally the $714-million surplus in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
Watch below: Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party has won a majority government in Alberta. Here is a look back on election night, in under two minutes.
With files from Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press. —
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