Party Policies
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal in the eyes of their creator, that they are endowed by natural law with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. We hold that government is instituted through a social contract with the citizens that create it and who lend it their authority, to secure those rights. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right and duty of the people to alter or to abolish it, to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to secure their individual life, liberty, property, and happiness.
We clearly recognize that governments long established should not be changed for light and temporary causes; and, accordingly, all experience has shown that people are more prone to suffering and depravation by tolerating the status quo, rather than righting themselves by abolishing the government to which they are accustomed.
But, when a long train of abuses, hindrances, and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under despotism by majority rule, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of this ‘Alberta province, treated as a colony’; and such is now the necessity which compels us to alter our former system of government.
The history of the present confederation is a history of repeated interference, usurpations, and unfair treatment, all having in direct object the establishment of tyranny of unconstrained majority rule without upholding the rights of the minority and this province. That when such government deems itself beyond the reach of its own laws and dictates, or when it imposes burdens upon this province while refraining in the application of those burdens upon the confederation as a whole, it is tyrannical and unjust. We recognize that failure to address this imbalance over the course of the last 115 years of this Provinces’ existence has produced cause sufficient for the people of this province to take the measures necessary to secure their liberty and independence free of the system that has so onerously prevented them from achieving these ends.
In so securing liberty and independence, it shall be incumbent on, as well as, the primal duty of the government, as framed in the Constitution of Alberta, to hold sacred and protect the right of every citizen to life, liberty and property starting with one’s own person, as well as the pursuit of happiness. The new Constitution of Alberta will recognize that:
- the family is the pillar of society from which principles, morals, ethical behaviour, accountability, knowledge, and critical thinking are passed on to future generations;
- all citizens enjoy equal treatment under the law;
- all citizens are presumed innocent until proven guilty;
- all citizens have the right to live free in a civil society that recognizes the supremacy of God and the rule of law, underpinned by justice, police, and military protection;
- all elected representatives and appointed government officials are compelled by their duty to serve the people honestly, ethically, responsibly, and with equal concern for all;
- prudent fiscal management of the taxpayer’s revenue is as a trust with mandated balanced budgets, prohibiting the transfer of wealth from future generations to the present generation;
- the democratic process manifests free and fair elections with fixed election dates, free votes in the Legislature, and the right to recall elected representatives, along with citizen initiatives for binding referendums;
- citizens have the right to vote unless incarcerated;
- the government shall focus its limited resources on carrying out tasks and accomplishing goals which individuals, families, communities, and voluntary associations find difficult to carry out or accomplish;
- elected representatives and appointed government officials must, at all times, fully respect and protect the fundamental freedoms and rights of 5all Albertans including, but not limited to; freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of expression; freedom of association and peaceful assembly; freedom from government surveillance and the corresponding right to privacy; the right to self defence including the right to own and bear arms; and the right to earn, own and enjoy private property.
A Wildrose Independence Government of Alberta will:
- create an Alberta Revenue Agency to collect all taxes levied in Alberta
- exercise control in all matters including, but not limited to taxation, pension plans, immigration, employment insurance, environment, natural resources, healthcare, transportation, trade corridors, financial services, information technology, cybersecurity, international relations, firearm policies, policing, and justice
- pay for such Canadian federal government programs and services that Alberta agrees to
- work with British Columbia, the USA, as well as other provinces to develop free trade including corridors for the transportation of goods, services, and natural resources
- ensure our national security in all areas including, but not limited to, food, energy, water, technology, intellectual property, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and border protection
- encourage the development of new markets and promote free trade internationally
- require reciprocity and fair competition with our trading partners
- negotiate new relationships with other provinces including, but not limited to, the exchange of intellectual capital, professional and trade accreditation
- eliminate all Alberta tariff and non-tariff provincial trade barriers unless required to deal with policies harmful to Alberta’s interests by intransigent jurisdictions
- eliminate politically driven funding of foreign governments or entities that adversely impact Alberta’s interests
- develop an Alberta military
- develop a strategic military and economic alliance with the United States and other nations
- maintain or redefine existing relationships, treaties and security relationships with the USA and other NATO nations
- engage equally with all Albertans as partners in prosperity and financial self-reliance
- exercise its own control over health and social policy
- negotiate new terms for Alberta’s relationship with Canada including, but not limited to, cooperation between other provincial and federal police, as well as military forces
- develop diplomatic relationships with other countries
- participate in international disaster relief efforts
- promote Alberta while recognizing foreign educational, professional and skill credentials to facilitate international exchange of professionals and accredited individuals
- promote efforts to repeal Bill-C48 (BC Tanker Ban) as contrary to Section #121 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and as contrary to international treaties permitting the transport of natural resources to tidewater for landlocked nations.
- Avoid Bill C- 69, the Federal Environmental Impact Assessment Act, as it does not apply to resource projects within Alberta, as Alberta has sole jurisdiction under section 92-A of the constitution.
LIBERTY: the responsible use of FREEDOM (unconstrained action) that does not infringe another citizen’s freedom
RIGHTS: common privileges granted to all citizens under the rule of law
RESPONSIBILITIES: duties that citizens are expected to fulfill to ensure a peaceful and prosperous society.
FREEDOMS
- Freedom of conscience and religion, including the freedom to practice one’s religion and to live out one’s life in accordance with one’s conscience, beliefs, and convictions
- Freedom of speech, thought, belief, opinion, expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication
- Freedom of families, as the moral, social, and cultural pillar of society, to pass on principles, beliefs, values, morals, ethical behaviour, accountability, knowledge, and critical thinking to future generations
- Freedom of speech on any topic in any venue without censorship, interference, or unlawful reprisal
- Freedom of association and peaceful assembly
- Freedom to own and enjoy property, including the freedom to buy, sell and trade real property
- Freedom to enter into voluntary contracts and associations
- Freedom to transfer an estate unfettered by taxation
- Freedom to create wealth in a free market economy
- Freedom of movement within Alberta, including entering and leaving Alberta
- Freedom from self-incrimination, unreasonable or undue search, seizure, and confinement
RIGHTS
- Right to life
- Right to self-defence, including the right to use whatever force is available to defend life, liberty, and property, as well as the right to own and bear arms
- Right of parents, with the family being the moral, social and cultural pillar of society, to raise and educate their own children as the parents deem best, including the right of parents to pass on principles, morals, ethical behavior, accountability, knowledge, and critical thinking, to future generations
- Right of parents to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children, including the content of curriculum, as well as the nature, culture, and character of their children’s learning environment, such that laws and government policies, whether fiscal or non-fiscal, fully respect these choices
- Right to legal counsel
- Right of recourse to the courts for citizens whose constitutional rights or freedoms have been violated by a government law, policy, or decision
- Right of citizens to initiate referenda on questions and issues chosen by citizens
- Right to recall any elected representative including, but not limited to those from provincial, municipal, and school board levels
- Right of children under 18 to be protected from having life altering decisions, such as but not limited to surgical procedures that cannot be reversed, except if potentially life saving
- Right to access health care of the citizen’s choosing, including alternative health care
- Right not to be deprived of one’s property without just and timely compensation
- Right to privacy including, but not limited to, personal medical information
- Right to the reasonable, limited, and orderly consumption of alcohol in public places
- Right to access government information except for proprietary, personal, or privileged government information and reasons of national security
RESPONSIBILITIES
- To uphold and defend the constitution and the laws of Alberta against all foreign or domestic threats
- To pledge allegiance to a free Alberta for new citizens
- To uphold the values and principles contained in our rights and freedoms
- To protect children from harm, including but not limited to life altering medical or surgical procedures, unless life saving, prior to the age of accountability
- To be an informed voter, and to prove eligibility to vote
- To treat others with respect and dignity
- To understand and practice, to the best of our ability, personal health, as well as sickness and injury prevention
- To ensure that children are educated to meet threshold levels of skills and knowledge to prepare them for real world employment and self sufficiency
- To ensure that children are provided an environment to learn their self-worth as individuals and their responsibilities as part of a larger community, including but not limited to becoming productive and lawful members of society
- To promote the protection and care of the vulnerable in our society
A Wildrose Government will create ‘The Constitution of Alberta’ to uphold the principles ‘that all people are created equal in the eyes of their Creator; from that equal creation they derive natural, inherent, self- evident, and inalienable rights, among which are the preservation of life, liberty, property starting with one’s own, as well as the pursuit of happiness’; that it is the duty of government to protect and uphold those individual natural rights. The Alberta Legislative Assembly will always have supremacy over the judiciary, meaning that whatsoever the Legislature has manifestly done shall not be undone by judicial review that which is constitutional. So conceived, the Alberta Constitution will enshrine, as inviolable certain individual freedoms, rights, and responsibilities.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Create and develop an Alberta Police Force with elected civilian oversight to replace the RCMP
- Shift resources from prosecuting drug users to their rehabilitation, and to catching and prosecuting drug traffickers
- Increase the penalties for the crime of money laundering
- Ensure the maintenance of an impartial and independent court system, recognizing this as a core function of government by providing additional funds to the court system as necessary, to ensure that undue delay does not derail criminal charges, enforcement, and civil liability court actions
- Protect the common law principle that one has the right to face one’s accuser
- Ensure the protection of whistleblowers
- Direct the Crown to diligently pursue and charge individuals who have made frivolous or false accusations
- Ensure that the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal (AHRT) is subject to the same criteria for evidence and proof as required by the courts
- Target all firearm legislation on criminal behaviour, while treating free Albertans with trust and respect
- Elect a Chief Firearms Officer who will be instructed to grandfather both the Firearms License and Registration of all firearms to any Albertan affected by a Federal order in council
CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Ensure that first offenders are afforded the opportunity not only to be educated about the consequences of their crime, but also and more importantly, opportunities to be educated in a skill, trade or profession that culminates in them becoming productive members of society
- Balance the interests of the public with the protection of first time convicted young offender’s identity based on specific risk criteria, including the violent nature of the crime and the risk to society
- Legislate a process by which convicted persons compensate their victims
- Ensure that the victim’s fund is adequately funded
- Implement a policy to reduce the recidivism of offenders through mandated sentencing in rehabilitation facilities
- Consider alternative dispute resolutions for certain crimes to avoid court time and expense, such as crime perpetrators compensating victims, which may work especially well with young and first-time offenders
- Eliminate bail to prevent release of repeat offenders
- Improve monitoring as well as strengthen restrictions for those who make bail, or are on parole
DEMOCRACY – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Give voters the right to recall their elected representatives
- Empower citizens to initiate referenda
- Allow free votes for MLAs in the Legislature to freely represent their constituents
- Ensure that all remuneration, severance, and pensions of elected officials as well as government employees are fully transparent
- Ensure that the necessary functions of government are delegated to the appropriate level of government closest to the people, including that the divisions of power and responsibilities are respected
- Ban partisan or political content in government advertising
- Ban political lobbying and advocacy by any government- funded entity.
- Maintain public access to the Freedom of Information process by eliminating any political interference, delays, or charges, except for privileged personal and government information, including reasons that are proprietary or of national security
- Crossing the Floor: between elections, any non-WIPA-member of the Legislative Assembly can apply to join the WIPA Caucus
FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Require annual balanced budgets, subject to unforeseeable natural disasters or acts of war.
- Mandate zero-based Ministerial budgeting, i.e., all expenses must be justified for each new fiscal year period, and every function within each governmental department will be analyzed for its needs and costs.
- Ensure transparent accounting in the budget and financial reporting process
- Ensure that the Auditor General’s Office has merit-based expertise and is empowered with an adequate budget to have sufficient capacity, access, and reporting of all government spending
- Restore and enforce the Government Accountability Act
- Restore and enforce the Fiscal Responsibility Act
- In the event of a budgetary surplus, prioritize its spending on debt repayment, crucial infrastructure, tax reduction, unexpected royalty curtailment and a disaster relief fund, in that order
- Review the mission and purpose of the Heritage Trust Fund
- Review and revise conflict of interest guidelines
- Ensure that government contracts are publicly tendered with open and transparent bids
- Ensure that organizations or businesses receiving government funds will provide an accounting using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
- Ensure that Government fiscal performance in all departments will be results-based, not process-based
- Ensure that all government expenditures are released in digital format absent a legal, security, or proprietary concern
- We recognize and oppose the historical and current unequal treatment under the Indian Act.
- Given the historic opportunity afforded by the creation of Alberta sovereignty, First Nations people along with all Albertans are invited to participate in the development of a Constitution of Alberta that is mutually acceptable and beneficial to all; based on the principles that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by natural law with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, entrenched by our freedoms, individual rights, and responsibilities.
- We believe in one country, one law for all, and one class of citizenship for all.
HIGH QUALITY, TIMELY ACCESS, AND COST- EFFICIENT HEALTHCARE – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Assert provincial jurisdiction over health care, as provided by Canada’s current Constitution (Section 92, Constitution Act, 1867)
- Ensure that all Albertans will retain Medicare coverage, and will be able to exercise the choice of purchasing complementary private health care insurance and services to shorten wait times and to improve quality for all Albertans
- Re-establish regional health authorities
- Streamline the number of Alberta Health Services (AHS) managers, administrators, supervisors, directors, as well as coordinators to improve cost and the quality-of-service delivery
- Permit non-profit organizations and private corporations to own and manage hospitals
- Contract out appropriate elements of the healthcare system competitively, to reduce costs and improve service quality
- Use established metrics to compare public and private health care delivery
- Mandate line-item accounting to hold managers and administrators financially accountable
- Replace global funding with funding that follows the patient for medical services to ensure maximal cost efficiency
- Allow physicians to advertise, as well as publish their costs and reviews to inform consumers
- Negotiate compensation models as well as amounts directly with individual specialist and family practitioner groups
- Treat drug addicts as healthcare patients, not criminals, which will require a defined period of supervised medical support to resolve the addiction
- Provide better access and funding for drug and alcohol rehabilitation
- Fund research strategies to promote individual and public health, as well as prevent sickness and injury
- Evaluate the potential merits of economic incentives, such as a tax reduction or health savings accounts, to keep people healthy from lifestyle associated diseases and injuries
- Remove unnecessary and irrational barriers to the recognition and certification of foreign-trained physicians and dentists
- Ensure that physicians and dentists are permitted to use evidence- based clinical practice guidelines
- Consider permitting an expanded repertoire of diagnostics and care by EMS to avoid patient transfer to the emergency room, or to more effectively manage those patients who require urgent intervention prior to physician contact
- Consider expanding the scope of clinical nurse practitioners
- Fully protect the privacy of the individual’s medical records
- Continuously benchmark healthcare access, quality, and cost with best practices from other jurisdictions, and implement improvements in Alberta accordingly
- Ensure that all invasive procedures on minor children are appropriately consented to by a parent or legal guardian
- Ensure that all potential recipients of vaccinations, including parents and guardians, are informed of the potential benefits, as well as all potential risks
- By asserting Alberta’s jurisdiction over healthcare, the WIPA Government will consider a “right to try” law for promising therapies not yet approved, in desperate medical situations
- Ensure immediate triage of all patients taken to the emergency room
- Quarterly reports will be provided to Albertans of their medical expenses and benefits
GRADES K-12 – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- IMPLEMENT FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN EDUCATION by ensuring that both equitable funding and the approved Alberta curriculum follows the students for all education options, including public, private, Catholic, and charter schools in Alberta, as well as homeschooling
- Pass a Parent’s Bill of Rights to guarantee choice and control over education, including an accounting of scholastic, athletic and other school sponsored extracurricular activities.
- Mandate that advancement occur based on measured performance benchmarked against the best international school systems, which will require standardized testing.
- Ensure that critical thinking and debating skills are part of all curricula
- Ensure that the curriculum includes exposure to, farming, fishing, hunting, outdoor skills, basic home repairs, vehicle maintenance, firearms knowledge, i.e. how the real world operates
- Ensure that financial literacy and computer skills are a part of the curriculum from K-12
- Ensure that the curriculum includes exposure to financial skills, including simple accounting, banking, mortgage, investment, as well as money flow to encourage fiscal understanding and responsibility
- Ensure that entrepreneurship, business management and self reliance are included in the curriculum
- Ensure that education, athletics, and extracurricular activities occur in a safe environment
- Ensure that students with special educational needs are identified and, along with the approval of their parents, provided an appropriate curriculum. NOTE: this includes children who either require a more advanced curriculum and less time for learning; and those children who require more time for learning with or without a modified curriculum
- Ensure that teachers educate absent political and or ideological bias, with emphasis on critical thinking and debate
- Ensure that teachers are protected from harassment or discipline for justly giving a student a poor or zero grade
- Ensure that parents are immediately informed of the need for child discipline and are subsequently engaged with implementing a solution for unsatisfactory behaviour
- Encourage all students to attend an annual or semi-annual career day with representatives from multiple businesses, professions, and trades
- Encourage all students with the opportunity to get a real-world experience of what drives our economy, feeds our people, and informs them about career opportunities via virtual visits to oil fields, gas plants, ranches, dairy farms, wood mills, medical labs, court rooms, etc.,
- Ensure access to educational facilities for all students, including adequate funding for transportation where required in both rural and urban regions
- Ensure that adequate supervision, counseling, and help is available for all students during classroom sessions and school sponsored extracurricular activities
- Ensure that teachers are responsible to their administrators who, in turn, are responsible to their elected school board.
- Ensure that teachers remain current with new knowledge and that curricula are upgraded as new knowledge becomes evident
- Ensure that teachers can be dismissed who demonstrate a lack of competence or behaviour that is detrimental to students, other teachers, or the profession
- Ensure that teachers who demonstrate a clear effort to improve the learning of their students with the students’ best interest clearly in mind are protected from union or political repercussions
- Ensure that the schools receiving funding for special needs children are following Alberta Education guidelines
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Mandate that all post-secondary institutions, in receipt of taxpayer funding, protect freedom of speech, association, as well as peacefully assembly and the rule of law; for which non-compliance may result in loss of funding, as well as the charter of the institution
- Hold to account administrators, directors and professors that permit and/or encourage unlawful behavior, such as the disruption and obstruction of campus activities and events, including the prevention of free speech, injury to others or property damage
- Respect the right of private educational institutions to practice their own religious and cultural beliefs
- Ensure that Alberta students have priority access and funding if they meet scholastic criteria for admission
- Make student union membership voluntary
- Allow post-educational institutions to partner with K-12 schools in vocational training
- Mandate that educational advancement occur based on measured performance benchmarked against the best international institutions
- Ensure that students enrolled in environmental sciences are also informed and educated on the importance and benefits that arise consequent to the development of our natural resources, including employment opportunities
- Ensure critical thinking and practical problem solving are part of the curriculum, as well as reciprocal debating in political science education
- Ensure that education programs ultimately lead to self reliance
- Ensure that educators report to their administrators and, in turn, to their institutional board of directors
- Encourage collaborative industry funding to support research and development
ALBERTA’S WILDROSE INDEPENDENCE GOVERNMENT WILL BALANCE THE BUDGET, ELIMINATE THE DEBT AND PROMOTE A FREE-MARKET ECONOMY AND WILL:
- Eliminate regulations that stifle entrepreneurship, agricultural development, and business development
- Entice business and industry to relocate to Alberta through lower taxation as well as a regulatory environment that is conducive to the free market
- Create the lowest taxed jurisdiction in North America to inspire the creation, operation, and success of all businesses, which will bring investment, job creation, as well as prosperity back to Alberta
- Allow private, employer sponsored insurance to compete with Workman’s Compensation
- Support a competitive free market through our polices to ensure that Alberta is the best place to live, raise a family, and build a successful business
- Privatize or eliminate government-owned businesses, services, programs, and crown corporations that compete with the private sector
- Privatize Alberta’s liquor and cannabis distribution system, including online sales
A Wildrose Independence Government, By Developing A Simplified Tax System, Will:
- Pass taxpayer protection legislation, requiring the approval of taxpayers by referendum for any net tax increases at the provincial and municipal levels
- Collect all taxes within Alberta, including, but not limited to, personal, corporate, property, and consumption taxes
- Restore the single-rate personal income tax, with generous basic exemptions for your spouse and children, as part of our goal of becoming the lowest taxed jurisdiction in North America
- Impose limits on the size and growth of government to lower the overall tax burden on Albertans
- Reduce the corporate and small business tax rate to the lowest level possible
- Eliminate the capital gains, carbon, tourism, and fuel taxes once the budget is balanced and the overall debt is under control
- Enshrine in the new “Constitution of Alberta” that both the Alberta and Municipal Governments will be compelled to cap taxation, as well as spending, including the limitation of debt financing to no more than 5% of the budget.
- Constitutionally compel mandated balanced budgets without raising taxes
- Consider up to 20% deductions from personal or corporate income for contributions of money or property to recognized organizations in Alberta
A Wildrose Independence Government, By Cutting Spending Will:
- Eliminate all corporate subsidies and bailouts
- Eliminate politically driven funding of foreign governments or entities
- Eliminate joint and overlapping funding between levels of government and within departments and agencies
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Agriculture is a vital component of Alberta’s economic, environmental, and social well-being. We recognize that the Alberta agriculture sector is fundamental to Alberta’s future and national security, that global food demand will continually increase, and that Alberta is able to supply an increasing range of food products into world markets at competitive prices. A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Enshrine property rights in the Constitution
- Grandfather animal husbandry and agricultural land use to protect landowners, businessmen and farmers from urban encroachment
- Eliminate unnecessary and counter-productive government regulations, taxes, and other barriers to agricultural research, implementation of new technology, productivity, marketing, as well as the transport of produce to local and international markets
- Review food safety regulations for consistency with international norms
- Review farm animal regulations to ensure compliance with international standards
- Ensure reciprocity and fair competition with our trading partners
- Improve environmental guidelines to ensure the protection and use of our water
FAIR EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Establish an Alberta Employment Insurance program
ALBERTA LABOUR CORPS – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Create an Alberta Labour Corps to provide work opportunities for unemployed Albertans
- Require all able-bodied adults receiving welfare to work in the Alberta Labour Corps to be eligible for benefits.
A COMPETITIVE SKILLED WORKFORCE – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Allow work-sponsored immigration
- Ensure merit- based hiring and promotion practices for government employment
- Allow private insurance plans to compete with the Worker’s Compensation Board
REFORMS TO PROTECT UNION WORKERS – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Restore the secret ballot for unions
- Require unions to provide full line-item budgets and audited financial statements to their dues- paying members
- Require unions to provide full disclosure of all political activities to their members including but not limited to: direct and indirect help provided to political parties and candidates; funds spent on election and pre-election advertising campaigns; and funds spent to promote or oppose any current laws and proposed laws.
A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Exercise its’ authority to both protect the environment and practice responsible stewardship in consultation only with Albertans
- Will disallow interference from any and all foreign governments, Non-Government Organizations (NGO), and other foreign third-party entities
- Mandate that the environment, including land, water, air, fish, and wildlife be managed and protected for use by future generations
- Ensure that development of our natural resources is balanced with the protection and preservation of the environment
- Ensure that land and water reclamation protocols are mandated and that wildlife corridors receive appropriate protection where land is disrupted for the development of natural resources,
- Ensure that stakeholders are consulted on the development of Alberta’s natural resources
- Communicate our stewardship of the environment to the public and international community
- Re-evaluate the Alberta Government’s regulations (Historical Resource Act) of all fossils in Alberta to ensure the effective preservation and cataloguing of our fossil history while encouraging private enterprise involvement, which will create more career opportunities in the historical resource sector
PIPELINES AND PRODUCTION – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Use every tool at its disposal to allow pipelines to be built, including legislation to prevent illegal obstruction of pipeline projects
- Consider, as one possible option, cutting off energy exports to provinces that seek to undermine or eliminate our oil and gas industry; consider further measures to restrict east- west travel, trade, and commerce across Alberta’s borders, as necessary
- Cancel oil production curtailment
- Abolish all caps on production
- Allow market forces to determine the development of upgraders
- Reform the application review and approval process to be competitive to other jurisdictions in North America
- Negotiate with the federal and BC governments the repeal of Bill-C48 (BC Tanker Ban) pursuant to international treaties permitting the transport of natural resources to tidewater
- Consult with the oil and gas sector on royalty reductions to stimulate new investment
- Avoid Bill C- 69, the Federal Environmental Impact Assessment Act, as it does not apply to resource projects within Alberta, as Alberta has sole jurisdiction under section 92-A of the constitution.
- Work with Canada, British Columbia, and the US to develop energy corridors
AFFORDABLE ENERGY – An Alberta Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Permit coal plants to remain operational if they can meet modern emission standards using clean coal emission technology.
- Permit the development of new coal mines subject to Alberta’s environmental protection standards
- Allow the market to drive production and growth in the oil and gas industry
- Declare pipelines as “vital infrastructure” in order to facilitate their smooth, unhindered development and operation, with appropriate enforcement
- Allow market forces to compete on pricing in the electricity industry that secures uninterrupted supply and smooths demand cycles
- Consider decentralizing the energy grid into many smaller generation stations to improve efficiency and regional employment
- End all government subsidies for future energy projects and honor current subsidized contracts where necessary
- Permit renewable energy projects to be developed and funded privately only, subject to Alberta regulatory approval
- Look to China, India, and the USA on the issue of reducing emissions, and will adopt and implement policies in accordance with what these counties are doing to reduce emissions
DEREGULATION – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Streamline regulations and eliminate redundancies to promote business development and new industries
- Harmonize the inspection of vehicles for Alberta registration
- Eliminate annual license plate renewals for all personal or farm transportation
- Establish a Red Tape Reduction Board to make public recommendations to Government as to which regulations need to be simplified or repealed
- Repeal two or more regulations in respect of every new regulation that may be adopted, until such time as the regulatory burden is reduced to a sensible and manageable level
- Require a thorough analysis of the full cost of all regulation, including the time and opportunity costs that businesses are required to incur by complying with regulations, with such analysis to be made available to the public
ALBERTA PENSION PLAN – A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Ensure that Albertans who have contributed to the CPP will still receive their pension benefits regardless where they reside
- Develop a new Alberta Pension Plan that will reduce premiums and enhance benefits
- Recognize and continue with existing TFSA and RRSP accounts
- Ensure that the Alberta Investment Management Corporation directors will be professionally qualified and remain independent in making decisions free from government or political influence
A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Mandate that all Alberta Government funded programs are transparent and follow International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) accounting
- Respect local autonomy by returning control to local municipalities from growth management boards, i.e. create competition where possible between adjacent municipalities
- Restore the right of appeal in the Municipal Government Act
- Ensure that policing is effectively funded and operates under the dictates of the Alberta Constitution with effective civilian oversight
- Ensure that Alberta’s borders are effectively protected
- Ensure a capable and effective military
- Provide funding for emergency shelter for victims of violence
- Institute a new plan to effectively manage the homeless problem based on fully understanding all of the factors that contribute to and perpetuate homelessness, including unnecessary impediments, as well as all potential solutions
A Wildrose Independence Government Will:
- Establish a Ministry of Immigration to control immigration within its jurisdiction
- Require new Albertans to pledge allegiance to a free Alberta in their citizenship oath
- Require immigrants moving to Alberta to understand their obligation to respect our value system, constitution, and laws
- Transform to a sponsored immigration policy
- Prioritize citizenship to those with current work visas
- Transition taxpayer sponsorship of immigration to private business and not-for-profit organizations
- Review Alberta’s recognition of the qualifications of migrants to speed up their integration into the workforce, and society at large
- Ensure that skilled workers and professionals immigrating to Alberta are, or will become, appropriately accredited