Get to know your Calgary-Lougheed byelection candidates: Jason Kenney

The Calgary-Lougheed byelection is set to take place on Dec. 14.

Voters will be choosing a replacement for MLA Dave Rodney, who stepped aside to clear a spot for new United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney to run for a seat.

Advance polls close Saturdayand an all-candidates debate is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Braeside Community Hal in southwest Calgary.

CBCCalgary'sThe Homestretchis profiling the candidates for the major parties.

Kenney appeared onThe Homestretchon Friday and below is an abridged version of that conversation.

You can listen to the full interview at the end of this story.

• Here's where to vote in the Calgary-Lougheed byelection advance polls

Q: Dave Rodney stepped down to clear a seat for you. What approach are you taking in this campaign?

A: This is an opportunity for people in Calgary-Lougheed to send a message to the NDP government and to tell the government to stop quadrupling our debt, to stop raising our taxes, don't increase the carbon tax by 50 per cent on Jan. 1, and stop killing jobs. We lost 17,000 jobs in Alberta in the last month, full-time private jobs, 200,000 Albertans are out of work.

This government has made a bad situation worse than it needed to be. This is an opportunity to send a message.

And if people vote for myself, they'll have a chance to have the leader of the opposition holding the government to account in the legislature.

Q: So if elected, what would you do differently?

A: Well first of all, we're not going to be in government because the NDPhas a majority until the next election. So what I will do is be an effective opposition leader, we need that as part of our parliamentary system.

In terms of the next general election, we'll be releasing a comprehensive platform, but one thingwe're committed to is eliminating the job-killing carbon tax, it's all economic pain and no environmental gain. They're about to raise it by 50 per cent, the NDPlied about it in the last election, the biggest tax increase in Alberta history is also the biggest lie in our history.

Q: Yesterday the NEB ruled the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project can begin. What's your reaction to that development?

A: Well, that's with respect to one particular one of I think 1,600 permits that are needed. This is a huge project and I'm glad to hear any positive decision.

This is a fundamental question about what kind of country we live in. Do we live in a country based on the rule of law, do we live in a federation based on an economic union, or not? So this is why we need to be very clear with British Columbia that if dilatory means by municipalities or the provincial government prevent the construction of this pipeline there will be consequences.

Q: You were in federal government for a long time. The Alberta government is trying to make some progress on the pipeline front. What would you do differently given the regulatory framework that's in place right now, opposition from Indigenous groups, environmental groups, trying to get some sort of social licence to get this through?

A: First of all, just to be clear, the carbon tax hasn't moved a single organization or politician or municipal government or Aboriginal or environmental group from no to yes on pipelines, so it's done nothing to acquire so-called social licence.

Secondly, I'd try to persuade people. I'm glad the premier's finally accepted our advice to go across the country talking about the benefits of Alberta's energy industry to the rest of the country, how we help to create jobs in other parts of the country and transfer wealth for equalization. So we have a great story to tell and I'm glad that the premier is finally telling it.

But if persuasion doesn't work then we'd have to be clear that there's going to be consequences. B.C. has trade interests, obviously, with Alberta. I've said I'm prepared to go all the way to replicating the kind of strategy that Peter Lougheed employed in the early 1980s to protest the National Energy Policy which was to stop the shipment of oil and gas to that part of the country.

Q: There's been a lot of talk about Bill 24 which was passed last month, the bill that prevents teachers from outing students that join a gay-straight alliance. You've gone on record as opposing that bill, so what would you do differently moving forward on that?

A: Well we supported the status quo that existed until two weeks ago. We supported Bill 10 which created gay-straight alliances, and which was supported unanimously by all parties, which left it to the discretion of educatorsto knowto make an assessment of when it's in the best interests of the children to engage parents.Our view is that every child is unique and there are some extenuating circumstances we know of some cases with autistic children that are dealing with very serious emotional challenges where teachers and principals may think it's appropriate or necessary for the best interests of the child to inform parents.

Allowing the professional judgment of educators to determine this is better than politicians using the blunt instrument of law.

Q: You've been painted as very socially conservative when it comes to issues like this. What do you make of that?

A: Well, I kind of laugh because what I just articulated was the policy of the NDP until two weeks ago. The reality is that our position was the unanimous position in Alberta politics until the NDP decided to play wedge politics. Look, we're not gonna play their game.

Albertans want a common sense government focused on economic growth and fiscal responsibility. A government that understands that you can't redistribute wealth without creating it in the first place and you can't tax and borrow your way to prosperity. That's the focus of our party. We're a big, broad mainstream coalition. Right now, based on the polls, we're the most popular political party in Canada, we're the second largest in terms of membership and we're only four months old.

Q: The deficit is $10.3 billion this year. The provincial government is talking about a wage freeze for public-sector unions. What would you do to try and turn the economy around given what's happening in this province right now?

A: According to Standard and Poor's they're on track for a $94-billion debt by 2020, a quadrupling of the debt, we've encountered now six credit downgrades, means we're spending more in interest payments on the debt.

First of all we have to work on restoring economic growth and investor confidence. We would eliminate the carbon tax, get other tax rates down as quickly as we can, significantly reduce the red tape and regulatory burden on the Alberta economy, speed up approvals, fight as hard as we can for pipeline approvals, and stop the increase in power prices that's going to happen as a result of NDPpolicy, stop future increases in labour costs and through all of those measures demonstrate that Alberta is open for business again.

Rapid fire questions for all candidates

Q: Where do you stand on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Calgary?

A: I want to see more information. We'd all love to have the Olympics but there's a huge cost and risk associated with it. I'd like to see these studies that have said it's gonna cost more than it brings in.

Q: Carbon tax?

A: Repeal it.

Q: Provincial sales tax?

A: Against it.

Q: Why?

A: We have a spending problem not a revenue problem. Let's deal with our overspending before we dig deeper into taxpayers wallets.

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With files from The Homestretch