Phillips back on the ballot for Lethbridge-West

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on September 13, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

NDP MLA for Lethbridge West Shannon Phillips has secured her party’s nomination to run in next year’s provincial election.

Phillips first was elected to serve the riding in 2015 and was Minister for the Environment and Parks and Minister Responsible for Climate Change in Rachel Notley’s government which lost power after the 2019 provincial vote.

Former city councillor Rob Miyashiro is the NDP candidate in Lethbridge East.

Phillips said Monday she’s had a team in place for some time and is ready to fight the election whenever the UCP calls one.

“We were well positioned to fight an election even this past spring,” said Phillips who has been visiting doorsteps a lot in her riding.

“We have a very, very experienced team now that can support both Lethbridge East and West and have been doing so for some time. And what we hear from people is that they want action on affordability, on restoring normalcy and respect in the healthcare system and jobs and Alberta’s future and economic diversification,” said the MLA.

The Alberta NDP team in Lethbridge and Rachel Notley’s team across the province “are ready to get to work right away. We are right now consulting broadly with people in the business community, with health care professionals, with people in K-12 education, all across the various sectors that need government attention. The Alberta NDP team, in addition to all of that door-to-door knocking, have been targeting consultations for some time” to get a sense of where residents want the party to focus its energy, she said.

“If there is a change in government people will see action on a number of their priorities right away. The reason for that is Rachel Notley’s team is focused on working for Albertans, not on ego trips and infighting and all of the rest of the chaos and absolute nonsense that we have seen from the UCP since their leadership review this spring, but even before that,” added Phillips.

She said the UCP has shown disrespect to public services and Lethbridge has been ignored by the current government.

“There’s a lot of work to do; we are focused on making sure that we first of all put the pieces in place so that there is a change of government. We have strong candidates doing the hard work on the ground,” she said.

“We are ready to go fight an election, win an election and then govern Alberta in a way that reflects the hardworking ethic that Albertans expect of us,” added the MLA.

The MLA doesn’t know when an election will be called.

“We have no idea what these people are going to do. They’re busy with their chaos and infighting and driving wedges between Albertans, indulging all sorts of frankly dangerous distractions like the Alberta Sovereignty Act” instead of solving problems that Alberta needs solved, Phillips added.

“They can call the election tomorrow, on Christmas Day or the legislated time in May. It’s all the same to me, I’m ready to go, I’m happy to continue to do the hard work on behalf of the people of Lethbridge to make sure that what we’re bringing forward as a set of thoughtful proposals in our election platform accurately reflect what people are telling us.”

In a statement released to media following her nomination, she said “I am happy for the opportunity to represent Lethbridge-West for the next election, and am thankful to all the members of this resilient community who continue to put their faith in me as a voice to represent their interests.”

“This coming election is pivotal for Alberta, and very important for the residents of Lethbridge as we face a crisis in our healthcare system, and the highest interest rates we have seen in over 40 years.”

In her statement, Phillips addressed the doctor shortage here.

“Lethbridge is facing an extreme shortage of doctors, and I haven’t seen the level of advocacy from their UCP MLA to enact real change where a difference can be made. I know that an NDP government will create real change, and deliver solutions to the real problems in Lethbridge, and all Albertans are facing. That is why I am proud to be part of Rachel Notley’s team, and am looking forward to creating a better future for the province.”

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