Councillor Paul Chauvet joins the West Yellowhead nomination race

 

Add another name to the West Yellowhead nomination list for the United Conservative Party as councillor Paul Chauvet has joined the fray. Chauvet is in his second term as a Whitecourt councillor and said taking the step up to provincial politics was something that he felt was necessary. “I don’t like what’s going on in my province. I don’t like seeing a carbon tax that was never brought up during an election and I’m equally angry federally because the carbon tax is a tax grab. It’s truly just a cash cow, and it has nothing to do with the environment.”

Chauvet said he is frustrated to see debt being racked up and everyday Albertans paying the price. “The moment they were elected they started playing with the royalties. What did that do? It created uncertainty in the marketplace. It’s not the government’s job to create uncertainty in the marketplace and yet that’s what they’ve done. How many billions of dollars have been shelved or cancelled in three and a half years? The NDP government inherited a $12 billion debt. Okay, I understand that. Well, it’s $45 billion today and they did that in three and a half years. Who’s paying for that?”

He said he can’t see the net gain to show money well spent and rather than see investment dollars enter the province he just sees it leaving. “Capital is fluid. They don’t need to invest in Alberta nor do they need to invest in Canada. They will go to the United States or the Middle East and invest there. When you have this uncertainty, they will bypass us and go elsewhere and it’s frustrating to see. I just shake my head and said no, this is enough.”

During the recent one-year anniversary of the UCP, Chauvet said there was one statement that he heard from leader Jason Kenney that really resonated with him both as a voter and as a candidate hopeful. “Kenney said we have to do three things. We must stay humble. We must work hard, and we must earn every single vote. That really resonated with me because I believe that after 44 years of the PCs being in power they did get lethargic and arrogant.

As for equalization payments, Chauvet said the system is broken. “Quebec has a lower unemployment rate than we do and a balanced budged so why are we cutting cheques to Ottawa which gives a large chunk to Quebec, a supposed have-not province when fiscally their economy is doing better than ours is? It needs to be fixed.”

He said Albertans should be proud of the resources we have rather than be made to feel guilty by environmentalist groups with an agenda. “Canada is an environmental steward. It’s very hard to find another country that will outclass Canada, especially with oil and gas. Which OPEC nation beats Canada when it comes to the environment, women’s rights, human rights, and standard of living? None.”

Chauvet said most people know of someone who lost a job or took a pay cut to stay employed. He said one story stuck with him specifically. “Right after the election, I heard a story about a conservative mom and dad and their two adult kids who still lived at home and didn’t pay rent. The kids voted for the NDP and were happy when they won the election. Well, the dad ended up losing his job and decided to start charging rent to his two adult children. That was a perfect example of biting the hand that feeds you.”

Another issue that Chauvet said needs to be dealt with is Bill 6. “Why are they telling farmers what to do? I think farmers know what they need to do. I was a farmer, my parents were farmers, and my grandparents were farmers. We don’t need more government intervention. Just let them do what they need to do.”

Chauvet said he is still 100 per cent involved in his role as councillor and as a realtor and that if he felt he couldn’t do all his roles to the best of his ability then he would step down. “I want to either be there 100 per cent or not at all.” He encourages residents to reach out if they have questions and reminds them to vote when it comes time to. “Not voting is still a vote; you just gave it to someone else.” He has set up a Facebook account under Paul Chauvet UCP and invites residents to send a friend request.