Our NDP Candidate, Fred Kreiner, grew up in Whitecourt, spent 11 years teaching school in Edson and has lived in Jasper since 2011. Fred knows this riding from east to west. He is also involved in the communities he has lived in; refereeing hockey, coaching football, volunteering his time to run student exchanges and acting as a ski host at Marmot Basin.
Fred Kreiner and the Alberta NDP are focussed on what is important to Albertans; quality public healthcare, public education, affordability and stable competent leadership.
Family health teams are an innovative model to provide health care services to Albertans in a more affordable way. It will provide over 1,000,000 Albertans with access to a family doctor. Family health teams include physiotherapists, dieticians and licensed practical nurses so a person seeking health services can be moved to the appropriate specialist or service quickly. We are losing rural doctors who feel disrespected by the current government and new doctors will not come to a province where the government doesn鈥檛 support medical professionals and science.
Our public education system has taken a hit in the last four years with massive layoffs of educational assistants and teacher hiring that has not kept pace with the growth in student population. Added to this mix, the pandemic has caused learning disruptions and we now need more supports for learners than we have in the past. The NDP has pledged to recruit and hire 4000 new teachers and 3000 additional educational assistants and support staff. This will reduce class sizes and also allow schools to offer a wider variety of programming. Most importantly, the Alberta NDP will pause the roll out of the current curriculum, engage with the teaching professionals and implement a modern curriculum for students that is inspiring and will allow students to develop the critical thinking skills required to life in the 21st century.
Inflation has made the affordability of life a challenge for many West Yellowhead families. The NDP has already indicated that they would pause a 2% increase in post-secondary tuition that is expected in the fall of 2023. We will address the high costs of car insurance, where Alberta has the highest rates in Canada. Our utility rates will also be controlled to ensure that everyday Albertans are not providing excessive profits to large corporations.
In four years of a Rachel Notley government, there were zero scandals. Her leadership through the 2016 Fort McMurray fire and evacuation provided Albertans what was needed in a time of crisis. The 2023 slate of NDP candidates is a strong group of community leaders and many faced contested nominations as did Fred Kreiner. The strong NDP team is ready to provide a Better Future for Alberta.
I remain committed to the people in West Yellowhead and to be part of the community as we deal with evacuations and disruptions to our lives through the recent wildfires in our riding.
This profile was submitted to the 51暗网 by Fred Kreiner鈥檚 campaign.
