Kathleen Ganley is committing that one her first acts as Premier will be to close the UCP’s bogus “energy war room” and cancel the RStar pilot giveaway — and devote that funding to the immediate hire of public school teachers, educational assistants and other school support staff.
“We have a government wasting public money on an embarrassing war room and a program to incentivize companies that refuse to clean up their own mess while Alberta students are denied access to an education because they don’t have the supports to engage — that isn’t right,” Ganley said. “I will cancel these Danielle Smith pet projects and put that money towards supporting our kids and our future economy.”
The UCP war room, known formally as the Canadian Energy Centre, has long been a source of embarrassment for the government and has largely been disregarded by the energy sector after incidents of plagiarism, misrepresenting facts and a complete lack of accountability to the public. Its annual budget has fluctuated between $10-30 million.
RStar is a program that proposes using $20 billion in public money to clean up inactive wells that companies are already responsible for under the conditions of their lease. So far, Smith’s government has allocated $100 million for an RStar “pilot program.”
“I will cancel RStar, I will cancel the war room and I will fund classrooms,” Ganley said, adding further details about her plan for education will be released in the days ahead.
“My campaign is focused on building an economy that works for people and education is a cornerstone of that plan,” Ganley added. “The kids learning in our schools today could go on to cure a form of cancer or make real progress combating climate change — but not if we deprive them of their right to an education.
“I will support public education and I will do it by ending the UCP’s wasteful corporate handouts.
“After all, this is our future we’re talking about.”