UCP candidate hosts breakfast fundraiser in Killam

UCP Candidate Jackie Lovely, for the new Camrose constituency, which includes all of Flagstaff, hosted a breakfast at the Killam Seniors Centre on Saturday, March 9.

Local host Ralph Sorenson introduced Lovely to the crowd of around 30 people, also introducing guest speaker Damien Kurek, Constituency Assistant for MP Kevin Sorenson.

Lovely introduced herself with a bit about her background, saying she was raised in rural Saskatchewan, but moved to find better opportunities. “At that time, there were so many people leaving that we had a standing joke – the last one out turns out the lights.”

Lovely said today’s younger generation are facing the same issues as she did, but this time in Alberta. She said Alberta currently has the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the country, higher than Nova Scotia, with Calgary having the highest unemployment rate of any city in Canada, and Edmonton close behind.

“There were 7,456 jobs lost in February in Alberta, but a gain in employment in the public sector,” says Lovely. “But a strong public sector depends on a strong private sector.”

Lovely said that if elected to the majority, Jason Kenney’s first act would be to repeal the carbon tax.

She talked about the second priority for the party, cutting red tape, “The open for business Act.” Lovely says Alberta is dead last in economic growth forecasts in the whole country, and says that the UCP is working on a rural immigration plan that may change that.

She talked about the loss to a community when a primary business closes because there’s no family to continue it, and no local buyers. “We need people, we need the financial benefits that business brings. We need to bring people in who can provide value, with a focus on building rural Alberta up again.”