The platform, including the NDP’s proposed budget, was revealed at a media event at the Kingsway Ramada in Edmonton to a packed room of media and supporters.
Notley focused particularly on the cuts to health care the current Conservative government under Jim Prentice is making. However, Notley plans to balance the budget by 2017 — the same as Prentice, but by protecting health and education while offering job creators a dedicated tax credit and reforming the Province’s royalty system.
In her proposed platform, a Job Creation tax credit would support 27,000 new jobs by rebating 10 percent of wages paid to new hires, up to a total salary of $50,000. Alberta’s tax incentives and royalties would be reviewed and reformed to diversity the economy and make the Province less vulnerable to the price swings of oil. In addition, corporate and union donations to political parties would be banned and capital investments would be public and transparent.
When it comes to health care and education, Notley says her party will create 2,000 new long-term care beds over the next four years and will roll back Jim Prentice’s $1 billion cut to health care, as well as his cuts to education. Notley stated that under the current system, there will be 12,000 new students in Alberta, but no new teacher hires.
Other aspects of the platform including investing in child care for families, eliminating the health levy, no new sales tax, the reintroduction of progressive income taxation, and fairer corporate taxes.
