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Vol. 18, No. 26, Wednesday, May 24, 2023 www.LamontLeader.com
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA candidates questioned on taxes in candidates forum
Independent candidate Kathy Flett gives her opening remarks during the Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville Provincial Candidate Forum at the Fort Saskatchewan Dow Centre on May 17. L-R (seated): UCP incumbent MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, Solidarity Movement of Alberta candidate Granny Margaret Mackay, NDP candidate Taneen Rudyk and Advantage Party of Alberta candidate Kelly Zeleny. Photo: Jana Semeniuk
Provincial election is this Monday, May 29
BY JANA SEMENIUK Over 130 people attended the Provincial Candidate Forum held by the Fort Saskatchewan and District Chamber of Commerce at the Fort Saskatchewan Dow Centre on May 17. All five candidates vying for the Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA position were present including former MLA UCP incumbent Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, NDP candidate Taneen Rudyk, Kelly Zeleny with the Alberta Advantage Party, Independent candidate Kathy Flett and Solidarity Movement of Alberta candidate Granny Margaret Mackay. Moderators collected written questions from audience members resulting in 13 questions being asked of the candidates ranging in issues from health care and taxes to public education and support for a provincial police force. Newcomer 61-year-old Granny
Margaret Mackay, for the Solidarity movement, said in her opening remarks that she has only been with her party for one week and felt motivated to enter the political sphere after experiencing the pandemic lockdowns. “In 2022, on a second trip to Ottawa, and I saw tens of thousands of unheard Canadians. For the past year, I have become a voice for four men who have been in a remand jail for 458 days with no trial,” she said. “And today, I am sitting here showing Albertans even a grandmother can step into the political world. I'm a firm believer that one must lead by example, because if not you then who.” One question posed to all candidates was to describe their position on taxes, tax credits, the carbon tax, and the CPP. Mackay was first to respond, admitting she did not have a position on the tax question.
“We're taking the fear out of politics by this grandma being up here. Just honestly want people to realize we're on a learning curve here and even at the age of 61, I’m willing to learn,” she said, laughing with the crowd. “My part in politics is putting an X on a ballot. That's the extent of my knowledge, the scope for me to talk about this stuff. I'll be back next year and we'll see how I'm doing then.” Independent candidate Kathy Flett was next to share her views on taxes and a provincial pension. “An Alberta pension plan, bringing that in-house is going to secure your future. Bring it in-house so that the future generations have a pension to look forward to,” she said. “The carbon tax is nothing but a wealth transfer. Taxes don’t need to go up, they need to go down.” Former MLA Jackie Armstrong-
Homeniuk stood firm in her statements around the CPP. “First of all, the UCP will not be touching your pension, at all, period,” she said, as the crowd applauded. “Under the NDP government, our taxes were raised 97 times. We've lowered taxes. We're going to have an eight percent tax bracket for people under $60,000. And that would be a 20 percent savings. And if you make over $60,000, it would be $1,500 per family. The carbon tax is nothing but a tax grab by the Liberal and NDP government, and we will be fighting against it.” Alberta Advantage Party candidate Kelly Zeleny was critical of the carbon tax and the current UCP government’s tax policy. “The carbon tax, it was just another tax. Is it going to help our environment? No. Continued on Page 15