FortMcMurrayFoodBankAssociation–CandidateQuestionnaire

DeniseWollard,NewDemocraticParty

1. Severalprovinceshavesetinmotionambitiouspovertyreductionstrategies.DoesyourpartyhaveaplantoaddresshungerandpovertyinAlberta?

TheNDPhasbeenraisingintheLegislatureforalongtimethefactthatotherprovinceshavebeendevelopingpovertyreductionstrategiesandAlbertahasignoredtheissue.PCMLAshavesaidthestrongAlbertaeconomyisallthatisneededforapovertyreductionstrategyandthatanyonecangetajobandthenwouldnothavetobeconcernedaboutpoverty.Thisisatroublingmisunderstandingoftherealitiesintheprovinceandaverydifferentapproachisneeded.Itisnoteworthythatasignificantpercentageofthefamiliesstrugglingwithallthediverseissuescreatedbyeconomicpovertyhaveoneormoreadultsinthehomeworkingfulltime.MuchofthechallengeinAlbertaistohavepeopleabletoearnabetterincome.Thisbeginswithmovingfromhavingthelowestminimumwageinthecountrytomovingawayfromthedependenceontemporaryforeignworkersinmanylower‐skilledjobsandinsteadpayingalivingwageforpeoplewhohavehomesandfamiliestosupportinAlberta.Hungerandpovertyshouldnotbeaddressedasmarginalproblemswhereindividualsareoftenblamedfortheircircumstancesandbandagesareputofdeeplyrootedsocialissues.Agoodpovertyreduction/eliminationprogramwillbebuiltonacross‐ministerialunderstandingofhowtoaddressthesocialdeterminantsofhealth.

2. WelfareratesinAlbertaarefarbelowthepovertyline.Whatwillyoudofor

peoplewithdisabilitiesandforpeopleingeneral,livingonsocialassistance?

ItiscommendablethattherehavefinallybeensomereasonableincreasesinAISHpaymentsthisyear,butforthosedependingontheincomesupportofAlbertaWorksthepaymentsdonotcomeanywherenearwhatisadequateforareasonablequalityoflife.Yetweknowthatincomesupportprogramshaveanimportantroletoplaytoaddressthecircumstancesofsome,especiallythoseunablefortemporaryorlongertimes,toearnanadequateincomeforthemselves.Cutsnearly20yearsagohavecontinuedtocreateproblemsandhaveneverbeenovercome.

3. Whatisyourparty’splatformonfoodsecurityinAlberta?

Aspartofanoverallsocialdeterminantsofhealthcommitment,foodsecurityneedsparticularattention.Havinganadequateincometohaveenoughproteinandfreshfruitandvegetablesinadietfromtheearliestyearsisimportantforhealthanddevelopment.Adequatehousingthatensuresplacestoprepareandstoreavarietyoffoodalsomatters.Publictransportationthatmakesitpossibletoshopproperlyforfoodmakesadifference.Supplementingfamilychallengesaroundfoodsecuritywithlunchprogramsinschoolsorgooddaycarewherechildrenreceivenutritiousmealsareallusefultoo.TheNDP’selectionplatformmakescommitmentsto

alltheseissues.Thevolunteersanddonorswhosupportfoodbanksarewonderfullycaringcitizensbutfoodbanksdonotconstitutegoodpublicpolicytoensurefoodsecurityforall.

4. Whatisyourparty’splatformonaffordablehousinginourregionandin

Alberta?

Inmanyways,assuringhousingsecurityisalargerchallengethanevenfoodsecuritybecausethecostofhousingissogreatandAlbertahasbeenthrough20yearsofseverecutstospendingonallaspectsofsocialhousing.Thepopulationhasgrowngreatlyandthesupplyofavailableaffordableandappropriatehousingofallsortshasdeclined.Waitinglistsarethousandsoffamilieslongforlimitedspacesavailable.Whatisneededtostartisacomprehensivehousingpolicy—muchmorethanthecurrentlimited10YearPlantoEndHomelessness.Thisneedstoensuremorehousingofawidevarietyisbeingbuiltandalsothatissuessuchasrentsupplementsandcontrolsonthesizeofrentincreasespermittedarealsoaddressed.Notonlymusttheamountofmoneycommittedtohavingaffordablehousingofavarietyoftypesbuiltbutthecriteriaforfundingprojectsneedtobemoretransparentandfreeofpotentialabuse.GoodplansalsoneedtoaddressmakinghousingmoreaffordableandtheNDPcommitmentsaroundissuessuchasregulatedpricesforelectricityandinterest‐freeloansforretrofittinghomestoreduceenergycostswillmakeadifference.

5. Ifelected,whatwillyourpartydo(or,whatisyourpartydoing)toenablewelfarerecipientstoentertheworkforcesuccessfully?

EveryAlbertanshouldbeabletobenefitfromAlberta’sprosperityandnearlyeveryonewantstodothattoaddressmorepeopleenteringtheworkforceandmakingtheincomesofwhichtheyarecapable.Therearemanythingsknownabouthowtodothis.FormanynewerimmigrantstheinadequateavailabilityofEnglishclassessootherwisewellqualifiedpeoplecangainthelanguageproficiencytobesuccessfulandmeasurestohavemoreoftheprofessionalassociationsdomoretorecognizeforeignexperience/education/qualificationsisvital.SpecialinitiativesneedtofocusonFNMIAlbertans,olderAlbertans,andpeoplewithdisabilities.Toomanyemployersstilldonotacceptanyresponsibilitytoaccommodatesotheycanemployawiderrangeofpeople.AlbertahasalsonotbeguntoseriouslylookatthedocumentedconnectionsinCanadabetweenlowincomesandracism.Sharedfundingapproacheswithmentorshipsandinternshipswillassistthosewhohavenotgotsuccessfulrecordsinthelabourmarkettobegintotransitiontosuchsuccess.Betterchildcarewillopenupnewjobpossibilitiesthatarenowclosedbecauseoftheneedsofchildren.

6. Ithasbeencommentedthatsomepartiesmaybeplanningtoprivatizesocial

assistanceandchildwelfare?isthissomethingyourpartyplanstodo?

TheNDPisconcernedtherehasalreadybeentoomuchshiftingofprogramsinthehumanservicestotheprivate(bothfor‐profitandnot‐for‐profit)

sectorsratherthanbeingretainedasresponsibilitieswithingovernmentministries.TheNDPdoesnotsupportfurthermovementinthesedirections.

7. Ifelectedhowdoyouandyourpartyproposetoassistnonprofitsand

charitiestospendlesstimeraisingfundsandmoretimedoingtheworktheirorganizationswerecreatedtodo?

Attentionisneededtothewaylimitssetonwhatgovernmentwillfundincallsforproposalsforserviceswherethenon‐for‐profitsectorrespondsthatdonotenabletheseorganizationstopaystaffadequatelyenoughtohavegoodretentionsotheyarealwayshavingtohireandtrainnewstaffasothersmoveontobetterpayingwork.AvailablefundingneedstorecognizetherealitiesofAlberta’slabourmarkettoday.Whenasocialworkercanmakemuchbettermoneyleavinghumanservicestodriveatruckatanoilsandsprojectitwillbedifficulttoensurehighqualityservicescanbeprovided.TheNDP’smodestcallsinthiselectiontoincreasetaxesonafewofthemostwealthyindividualsandoncorporationsandtoincreasetheroyaltiespaidonbitumenextraction;alittlewillresultinmuchmorerevenueandanincreasedabilityforgovernmenttoproperlyfundnecessaryservicesforthewellbeingofallintheprovince.