Phillips reflects on UCP failures as 2023 election nears
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on December 29, 2022.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips says the NDP is hopeful for a better year in 2023 with a provincial election on the horizon following a challenging year as the official opposition in 2022.LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com
After a challenging year as part of the official opposition, New Democratic Party MLA for Lethbridge West, Shannon Phillips, said they are hopeful for a better 2023 with a provincial election on the horizon.
“Locally my focus has been on making sure that Lethbridge is heard. We have a provincial government that have been very focused on their own drama. This has been a year of high drama for them and their own internal soap operas, where our direction from our leader Rachel Notley has been to focus on local issues and the things that actually matter to Albertans,” said Phillips.
She said it turns out that people in Lethbridge and across Alberta do not really care about politicians who are focused on themselves, they want their elected officials to focus on the real problems they face in their daily lives.
“When you don’t have a family doctor, when there’s nowhere to send your lab results, when you can’t get a specialist appointment, where there’s only one OBGYN in the entire city, these are real issues for people,” said Phillips.
She said that on top of that when going to the grocery store, they are seeing a 40-year-high inflation, and utility bills are going through the roof, as well as car insurance.
“All of these things that the government could just stop making worse. People across the province deserve elected officials that are going to give voice to those things that are on their minds, and that’s what I focused on this year,” said Phillips.
She said one of the problems was Jason Kenney made a series of promises that he had no intention to keep, one of which was the fact that he was going to continue to fund healthcare.
“He did no such thing. He went to war with doctors and nurses and other healthcare professionals. He made all these big promises and completely under delivered on all of them and by last fall people were just utterly done,” said Phillips.
She said Kenney did not level with the voters about what it was actually going to take to make sure that we have economic resilience in this province, how we actually attract new investment.
“That was his approach and this new premier elevated it to high heart. There is no question that people are going to get tired, they’re going to see through it, and they see it,” said Phillips.
She said conservatives are just running around making selling snake oil promises to people while the healthcare system is falling and there is no action.
“We just see zero action on things like housing and local social services, people see through it and provincial government is very close to people’s lives. Any small decisions really affect ordinary people,” said Phillips.
She said that when she has talked to people, many have said they care about health care, they care about affordability, they care about the future economy, and they care about social services.
Phillips said that when it comes to getting ready for a provincial election in 2023, they have already been putting in the work since last year since Rob Miyashiro was nominated as the NDP’s candidate for Lethbridge East in November 2021.
“This is the time of year where we usually take a bit of a break and then I will throttle it back up in January. This was the approach I took even when I was a minister, we didn’t stop in 2018, we began for well over a year out for 2019. (When) I campaign, we will do no different and that’s how you keep your feet on the ground and your head out of the clouds,” said Phillips.
As free political advice to the UCP, she suggested this is the time to start talking to voters.
“Because you’ve all just been talking to each other and that’s where poor decisions like this Sovereignty Act come into play, where you just barrelled forward with a terrible idea that chases investment out,” said Phillips.
She said that if there is a change in government in 2023, and the NDP has the privilege of governing the province once again, they will repeal the Sovereignty Act.
“It’s one of the pieces of our overall investment strategy. There’s a few other more detailed pieces in there in terms of attracting large capital investments, and some of an expansion of some investor tax credits, and some other pieces that we’ve committed to doing around making sure that companies can get regulatory approvals in a more expeditious fashion not just in the energy sector but for large projects such as we saw when we attracted the Cavendish facility here to Lethbridge,” said Phillips.
She said there is always pieces of work that need to be done in conjunction with municipalities around the Water Act, access to water allocations, issues that are key to attracting large scale employment investments in the private sector.
“We made those commitments at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, as well we have been very focused on our economic agenda and ensuring that we are accurately reflecting we’re a business community and making sure that voters in the business community, outside investors are hearing the right messages from the official opposition,” said Phillips.
She said they have a responsibility to the people of Alberta to demonstrate that there is a government in waiting who are prepared to not only undo the bad things, but also bring forward a series of practical substantive proposals that create an attractive investment climate for the right business.
“We have a young, educated workforce advantage, we need to keep people here not drive them out. We have excellent postsecondary institutions of which two are right here in Lethbridge and there are just so many advantages,” said Phillips.
She said what a government needs to do is engage with people, actually hear them out, really listen and take those good ideas and make sure they are practical, and achievable.
“We are focused on those things because we know that they will create jobs, good mortgage paying jobs, and ensure that we build on the strengths that we have. The province in both the traditional oil and gas energy sector and any emerging sectors,” said Phillips.
She said that for 2023 she needs to make sure that she takes what she has heard over the past year in terms of people’s concerns and ensuring the NDP are putting forward the right solutions.
“We have begun that work and certainly will have a lot more to say in the new year as we’ve gone through a number of consultations with people around housing, around downtown redevelopment and revitalization, and downtown public safety,” said Phillips.
She said she will make sure to make the needs of Lethbridge heard, as we are far from Edmonton and outside the big economic engine that is Calgary. Â
“The big cities will take all the oxygen out of the room unless we make sure that we get what we need. For me, what I am very focused on after having listened carefully to people for the last year and stood on their doorsteps, and had meetings with folks and listen carefully to what all our volunteers are hearing back from people, is that our set of proposals is really specific to Lethbridge,” said Phillips.
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I sure hope that eventually you drop the Red Herring’s and focus on the issues of Lethbridge. Just in case you are not aware, which would make you politically disconnected, their is a Health Crisis in “Canada” as a whole. Suggesting the UCP created the problem, would also suggest the NDP created the problem in BC. So drop that Red Herring, it is old, it is false and it is grandstanding.
Second, you suggest you are focusing on issues that matter to Lethbridge? Yet you do not represent your constituents or fight for their very livelihood in light of the Drug Crisis. Which really means you prefer to ignore the very thing that will kill our downtown and extinguish out society as we know it. So either you have no clue what to do or you prefer to ignore the situation so that whatever happens you can say you had nothing to do with it. So which is it Phillips?
I have in the past voted NDP but all I see from you and Mirashiro is an agenda that will destroy our downtown so you can appease the non-profits who as we speak are destroying other cities with their ill thought out reasoning.
You and Mirashiro both, appear to support the 42 bed facility across from the Bakery at 5th North and Stafford. You have not commented on the SSIGs stupidity on locating all the downtown destroying facilities in the Burnside 19 acres. Mirashiro and you both support SCSs even though Canadian Interpretation of what they are supposed to do is wrong, ill informed and downright stupid.
You and Mirashiro appear to want to appeal to the bleeding hearts who are intent on killing this city with their recklessness even though there is a litany of examples around the world that the result is ALWAYS a dead downtown and closing of businesses.
So really Phillips, what have you done for this city, you do alot of squawking but did not fund your promise to twin Hwy 3, you did not fund anything around Lethbridge and took credit for solar farms whom were being built by others.
The reason you focus on Doctors and Nurses is not because you care about family doctors at all, you are more concerned the Union they belong too is being diminished and that is your voter base. Calling a spade a spade sometimes hurts, but you keep on driving the spade into your own foot.
Show us you care about Lethbridge, STOP the destruction of a downtown and start earning the money you are being paid! WHATS YOUR PLAN to save the City?
A very brief summation of the NDP failures past and probable TW. Phillips reflects the NDP mantra where the ” N” stands for “negativity” and the option of actually giving credit to someone for a job well done OR offering coopereative effort to fix a problem borders on heresy.
Hopefully the 300 votes that kept the Westside Whiner in office will have moved to the socialist paradise far to the west and we will be rid of her.
Have a Happy New YearTW, but brace for the usual socialist horde here attacking the messenger and being unable to intelligently respond to the message.
Here’s another slant/projection:
“Never mind what Danielle Smith promises, here are the top 10 things that WON’T happen in Alberta politics in 2023”
http://www.albertapolitics.ca
That is quit the load of caw caw that you spewed MLA Phillips. You speak of drama: you are the biggest drama Queen in this city with all of your venom filled attacks against not just politicians.
You state people want people focused on the real issues, yet you sue our police after the took action against those who surveilled you, $400,000 plus all of the lawyers fees and the Lethbridge taxpayer will be on the hook for at least $800,000. You only care about Shannon!
You state that nothing has been done about those needing housing while I see several projects and actions, which have housed many.
The NDP destroyed our city opening up the (SCS)Supervised Consumption Site, and as businesses who were severely impacted and residents of this city pleaded with the then governing NDP to do something, even close it, you did nothing. You ignored your consituents, the citizens and the business community in this city!
I have no qualms calling you out from all of your open attacks on others!
You bring up Rob Miyashiro, who created strife and even was in a ‘dogfight’ in the middle of an important Council meeting regarding the impacts of the SCS to our community. If you want him, you deserve him! He fits the profile of the Lethbridge NDP for angry verbal attacks.
You said you have gone though many public consultatons with people around housing, around downtown redevelopment and revitalization, and downtown public safety. Did you ask the downtown businesses, the residents in the downtown region who are impacted?
We already know that will happen if the NDP gets back in: you will open another SCS, since your opposition minister to addictions and mental health states on TV, SCS’s work and science backs that up! You talk revitalization using taxpayer funds to dump tens of millions more into an area over-run by addicts and homeless, proving you are clueless in solving the issues and think dumping more money into the puttin lipstick on the pig will resolve everything!
The Vancouver DTES is the biggest ‘scientific’ proof showing the harm reduction doesn’t work and revitalization and even gentrification doesn’t work.
One council member in Vancouver got addicted, ended up living in encampments and he even says harm reduction and SCS don’t work!
Don’t bother knocking on my door! The NDP will never get my vote after what you did to this city and continue to do by suing our police force!
You have sown and lot of bad things to reap and I hope I am around to watch you when the reaping begins!