Important Announcement: Regarding My Future as Airdries MLA Dear Friends; As 2015 begins, Ive been reflecting on my time in politics and the most recent turn of events that have me now sitting as part of the Prentice Progressive Conservative government. It has been a long journey to get here – with some necessary and unexpected turns along the way - and I feel I have made an important contribution towards the current Alberta governments fiscally conservative platform and solid commitment to high ethics and integrity. These principles were articulated in a common principles document, which was made public at the time most of my colleagues and I joined the PC Caucus (please see full document below). I believe that I serve my constituents best as part of the Prentice government and not fighting against the very policies and principles for which I have long advocated. Premier Prentice is the right leader for our province at this time and it will be my pleasure to help serve the government as we work to advance critical pipeline infrastructure, recalibrate the provincial budget so it can be balanced at a lower oil price, cut waste, increase government transparency and reprioritize spending to core services and infrastructure. My journey in politics has been an incredibly fulfilling experience and Im proud of my record and humbled by the opportunity my constituents have given me to serve. In turn, I believe it is my responsibility to be forthright with my constituents and with my Caucus colleagues about my intentions for the future. My wife Anita and I have long been thinking about what is best for our young family and began discussing a life after politics many months ago. Prior to Christmas I sat down with the Premier and let him know I would not be seeking re-election. I also thanked him for his leadership in working with my colleagues and I to unite like-minded Albertans committed to fiscal responsibility and ethical governance. Anita and I are both looking forward to pursuing new careers in the private sector while spending more time together as a family. Our boys are now ages 5, 7, 8 and 10, and their father has been on the road for much of the last 8 years. It’s time to focus the next chapter of my life primarily on them. Serving as the MLA for Airdrie (and Airdrie-Chestermere prior to 2012) has been one of the greatest experiences and honors of my life. So many of my most cherished friendships and memories stem from my time in this role. I will spend my remaining time as MLA continuing to work on establishing 24-hour health care services in Airdrie, improving conditions for seniors at Airdrie’s Bethany Care Centre, and assisting Premier Prentice with what will be a very challenging and important budget during a time of great economic uncertainly for our province. Anita, our boys and I want to thank our constituents and our friends across the province for an amazing 8 years of public service. We especially want to thank the hundreds of supporters who have reached out with such kindness over the past few weeks in particular. We can’t tell you how much that has meant to us. I look forward to my remaining time as Airdrie’s MLA as well as the opportunity to serve in the community for years to come. Sincerely, Rob Anderson MLA Airdrie Below is the common principles document mentioned above: • MLA-driven review of existing property rights legislation including recommendations for improvement • Development of a public prioritized infrastructure list for major capital projects and maintenance • Commitment to running the most ethical and transparent government in Canada • Free votes for private members’ bills, private members’ motions and government bills dealing with issues of personal conscience • Commitment to a caucus briefing, debate and vote on all proposed government legislation and major spending initiatives prior to their public announcement. Health Care • Strengthen health care decision making at the local level • A commitment to increasing patient choice in health care within the auspices of the Canada Health Act • Development of a plan to make our health care system fiscally sustainable given the changing demographics of our population Education • A commitment to addressing Alberta’s school shortage and maintenance backlog • Ensure each school board is using a grading system that is easy for parents to understand and objectively grades a student’s skills and knowledge of the provincial curriculum • A commitment to the basics of reading, writing and mathematics in the provincial curriculum • An ongoing commitment to protecting the rights of parents in making informed choices pertaining to their child’s education Budget and Finances • Development of a new multi-year fiscal plan based on fiscal conservative principles to maintain Alberta’s triple A credit rating, that will balance the budget, bring an end to debt financing, including for capital, and pay off the provincial debt • Protect and strengthen the Heritage Fund as a means to reduce reliance on non-renewable resource revenues • Limit operational cost increases to the rate of inflation plus population • A commitment to not implementing provincial sales tax and keeping Alberta’s income and business taxes the lowest in Canada Environment & Energy • Developing an aggressive strategy to promote more consumer use and adoption of cleaner burning fuels and alternative energy sources such as domestically produced natural gas, solar, wind and geothermal power • Strengthening the effective monitoring of our province’s air, water and land quality and a commitment to keeping our province’s environment clean • Maximize the value of our natural resources by expanding access and pipeline capacity to multiple international and domestic markets • Ensure that our tax and royalty regimes continue to be attractive to investment when compared with other competing jurisdictions, and work to decrease unnecessary red tape Municipal Financing • Develop a stable and predictable municipal funding model • Streamline and consolidate the various municipal granting programs to achieve less provincial and municipal red tape
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 05:41:02 +0000
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