Alberta NDP leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley is pledging to fund classrooms, build schools and take political interference out of Alberta’s curriculum.
“Alberta has the lowest per-student funding in the country — the UCP should be embarrassed,” Ganley said. “My education plan is to measure both class size and complexity and make sure we’re funding for both. We would restore class-size reporting and set standards to ensure students are getting the education they deserve.
“I would also build desperately needed schools in growing communities across the province and modernize schools that have suffered over years of UCP neglect. I also believe families deserve clear timelines on when promised schools will be built in their communities.
“I would take the politics out of the curriculum by ensuring experts are developing it and I establish clear timelines for the curriculum to be reviewed and renewed. Classroom teachers would have a major role in this work.”
Alberta NDP Leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley says she will ensure all children, teachers and school staff have access to properly ventilated classrooms.
“Like most kids, my daughter tends to catch whatever is going around in her school,” Ganley said. “She needs to be in school, so do her peers and so do the teachers and staff.
“With the pandemic and the devastating wildfires we’ve seen in recent years, we know that so many factors can impact children's health and wellbeing. Protecting and enhancing ventilation in schools is a step the provincial government can take to ensure they are able to focus on learning and growing. This is important for their individual futures and the collective future of our economy.”
The first official Alberta NDP leadership debate exposed a major difference between frontrunners Kathleen Ganley and Naheed Nenshi, with the former continuing to lay out clear policy positions and initiatives she supports and would implement.
“I know right now that most people can’t afford their rent or their mortgage. I know that kids don’t think they’re going to be able to afford a home when they grow up — and I know that right now. I can take a policy (stance) on it right now,” Ganley said in an interview following the debate.
Naheed Nenshi disagreed with releasing detailed policies.
"With me as your leader, we will fight for every inch, every single day. Because our children are counting on us, and there is nothing more tenacious than a mother fighting for her kid.”
Alberta NDP leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley is committing to restoring Legal Aid funding as part of her plan to support people.
Ganley said she would uphold the conditions of the governance agreement she signed with Legal Aid Alberta and the Law Society of Alberta while serving as the Minister of Justice in Rachel Notley’s government. The agreement provided $70 million over four years to ensure that every Albertan has meaningful access to justice, fair representation and protection of law. The deal would have ensured that this critical service remains viable and strong for years to come.
“The deal we signed reversed decades of Conservative under-funding and made the system fairer and more efficient,” Ganley said. “Legal AId serves tens of thousands of Albertans every year."
“We know people are struggling to keep a roof over their head and food on the table and that makes Legal Aid even more important.”