Schweitzer campaign brings focus back to Whitecourt

 

By Laura Bohnert

After two visits to Whitecourt, Doug Schweitzer can see the potential of a community that he worries is too often overshadowed by larger city centres, like Edmonton and Calgary.

The Calgary-based lawyer is currently in the midst of his campaign to become the leader of the new United Conservative Party of Alberta, and that campaign has brought him to Whitecourt—twice—in the past week.

Schweitzer worked to become a partner at the largest law firm in the world before deciding to run for leadership of UCP. It’s a position that gave him front-row seats to the Alberta struggle—a struggle he describes as amplified by a lack of competence when it comes to the government’s role in helping businesses turn things around in a tough economy.

“When people lose their businesses, the employees lose, too, and we’re talking 30 to 50 employees in each company who are getting laid off with no severance package,” Schweitzer describes. “It happens so many times—on repeat—across the province. I have so many friends who are unemployed or underemployed, and they are wondering if they have a future in Alberta.”

“It’s just not good enough,” says the father of two who had to grow up watching his own parents endure the same struggle.

“My parents, in the 80s, faced a similar situation. They struggled through a similar bad economic environment that was backed by bad government policy and a lack of competence. My family struggled to recover financially, so I know how hard it is to recover, and how hard that is on families.”

“Alberta needs a new plan,” Schweitzer stresses. “It shouldn’t be this hard for families to recover. People are tired of the conservative politics of the past, politics that were angry and negative—but we’re seeing the same thing on the left. Generationally, we’re looking for something new: a new, positive plan that can charter a brighter path for a future in Alberta.

“The biggest thing we can do, from a government standpoint, is get back to the basics and get the fiscal plan in order. We’re planning to offer the country’s largest tax relief because we want to restore Alberta’s status as the place to do business in Canada. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) gave Alberta a failing grade for its business practices. It’s time to get back to the basics and employ the best practices to show that Alberta is the best around for those who want to do business here.”

And it’s that business-focus that has brought Schweitzer to Whitecourt—and back again, for the second time this past week.

On August 24, Schweitzer traveled to Whitecourt to tour the Millar Western pulp mill, as well as to visit with Mayor Chichak.

“Whitecourt really is a great place,” says Schweitzer. “It demonstrates the diversity of the Alberta economy that tends to get lost in the narrative of Edmonton and Calgary. Forestry is the third largest sector in Alberta’s economy, and it gets lost in what’s happening across the province.”

“As a government, we have to make sure people understand the importance of that discussion, and we have to be sensitive about what’s happening on the ground in all areas of Alberta. The biggest thing people need to know,” Schweitzer concludes, “is that I want to listen. I want to come to the community regularly to make sure we get the input of the people in Whitecourt, and to make sure we know what challenges are facing the communities that are more often overlooked. We need to do our best to face these problems through honest discussion. Too often in politics, people get lost in bubbles of arrogance when, instead, we need to make sure we are listening to the people and delivering on the necessary courses of action.”

For more information about Doug Schweitzer and his campaign, visit @DougSchweitzerForAlberta on Facebook or check out his website at http://www.dougschweitzer.com.