Nenshi laments 'no overall plan' for Calgary in survey results of provincial parties
YYC Matters questionnaire quizzed parties where they stand on key issues affecting Calgary
The city released the results Friday of a survey it conducted to find out where the political parties running in the Alberta election stand on key issues affecting Calgarians.
"We know Calgary is key to our province's future and we want Calgarians to have a clear picture of how those running to govern Alberta see Calgary-specific issues," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
"Today, we have some answers on that. The parties are now on the record for all Calgarians to see how they would address the needs of the province's largest city."
the parties' positions, organized into four categories:
- How parties plan to honour commitments to Calgarians.
- How they intend to support Calgarians.
- How they plan to promote economic recovery.
- How they would close Calgary's infrastructure gap.
There was a wider range of answers to the question of how the parties propose to help Calgary's downtown core, where a quarter of the office space sits vacant.
The NDP touted its existing incentive programs for petrochemical and upgrading projects, which the party says will stimulate $75 billion in global value-added petroleum investment and create 70,000 jobs by 2030.
The UCP said its planned corporate tax cut and scrapping of the carbon levy will together spur the creation of 61,000 jobs.
"This strategy, combined with our low lease rates and relatively modest house prices in Calgary, will command the attention of job-creators in every sector," the UCP said.
Nenshi said he's discouraged that not one of the parties had a specific plan for economic growth for Calgary aside from lowering corporate taxes — which he argues won't fill downtown office buildings.
He also said he had hoped the provincial parties would promise to help the city with ongoing funding of its Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF).
"Not one of the parties committed to assisting us in our economic development fund to try and bring new business and new investment into downtown Calgary. Overall, there really was no overall plan for the city, and I found that very surprising," he said.
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- Alberta Votes 2019: CBC News brings you all the news, analyses and columns you need for the election
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