Alberta NDP leader accuses conservatives of starving health care

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This article was published 14/10/2022 (706 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It may be bigger and rockier, but the governing forces in power in Alberta are a mirror image of Manitoba and it’s not pretty, NDP leader Rachel Notley said.

“They failed to protect the health-care system throughout the pandemic leading to a massive collapse in our most important public service. They failed to meaningfully address the rising cost of living as more and more families turn to the food bank just to keep the fridge stocked,” Notley said in the keynote address at the Manitoba NDP convention in Winnipeg on Saturday night.

“Instead of taking responsibility and showing leadership and being accountable they collapsed, instead, into infighting and selfish politics,” she said, referring to the resignations of Brian Pallister and Jason Kenney, who both fell out of favour with their party.

Both men were replaced by their parties who chose new premiers, both women, one of whom is the least popular premier in Canada according to national opinion polls.

“Outside of hockey, we’ve had another real contest over the past year to see whose premier is the least trusted in Canada. You guys are ahead by a hair. (Premier) Heather Stefanson has that title today, but let me tell you, Danielle Smith is going to give her a real run for her money,” she said of the controversial new United Conservative Party leader who replaced Kenney as Alberta premier.

She’s hoping both Stefanson and Smith who took office without being elected are replaced by NDP leader Wab Kinew and herself when voters in both provinces go to the polls next year.

She accused both governments of starving their province’s public health-care systems to rationalize the need for more private health-care services.

“Let’s be clear: conservatives want to impose more privatized care to pitch a new version of two-tiered health care The options in this new conservative system will be pay or pray, the end,” Notley said.

Notley, whose speech received a standing ovation, said there’s a “worrying rise in anti-science and anti-fact, far-right politics in this country, and the consequences of that for everyday people are actually very, very serious.”

Kinew, who spoke after Notley, described a “confluence of forces” targeting working people to pursuade them to vote against their self-interests.

New Democrats need to convince them they’re the party working for working people and make sure that message is heard and seen, he said.

“I propose for us to get on Facebook and TikTok and reach the folks we need to reach, not just to win the election, but to win the conversation.”

The convention, which reported 260 registered participants on Saturday, concludes Sunday.