Less than four months has elapsed since the Alison Redford-led provincial Conservatives regained a majority government in Albert’s legislature, but Banff-Cochrane MLA Ron Casey is confident the party’s leader is moving the province in the right direction.
The former Canmore mayor and rookie MLA said he has adapted to his new role as chair of the rural caucus within the party and his experiences as both mayor and town councillor provided the necessary experience.
“The issues are somewhat different, but at the end of the day you’re still working with the people,” Casey said. “It will take a while to understand how to be effective for your constituency and that’s part of the learning curve. The content of the issues is different, but how you deal with the issues doesn’t change very much.”
Several items the MLA is set to tackle during his time in the legislature include improving access to healthcare, logging, particularly in the Bragg Creek area, and trying to get tourism a higher profile.
“Certainly in rural Alberta and in this riding, tourism is the major driver and really does need to have a clear mandate from the province,” he said. “Travel Alberta has gone through restructuring so it’s doing some great work out there right now.”
Aside from also improving infrastructure in the Cochrane area, especially surrounding upgrades to Highway 22, which is currently still in the planning stages, Casey stressed that the overall direction the premier is leading the party comes down to opening up the conversation to all Albertans.
“I think her whole approach is one of re-engaging Albertans,” the MLA said about Premier Redford. “It’s something I believe very much in. We need to get out there and re-engage.
“The premier’s approach is building that understanding from the ground up and truly understanding what the issue is before you go out and solve it,” he continued. “Not solving it from an office in Edmonton, but solving it in the constituencies.
“It’s a way more open and transparent approach than I think we’ve seen in the past. It’s certainly one that I can work with and am happy to be part of.”
Casey said the premier’s attempts at being transparent have helped define the province’s leadership capabilities as evidenced by last month’s meeting in Nova Scotia, which involved all Canadian premiers.
Alberta has received much media attention stemming from the meeting where premiers discussed having a national energy strategy, an idea spearheaded by Redford and backed strongly by both Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger.
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark was the only one to disagree with the idea until solutions are provided regarding the building of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline.
“She certainly understands that Alberta can’t do this on its own,” Casey said about Redford’s outreach to other provinces. “I think the recent press coverage has shown that Alberta really does have to be part of that bigger conversation.
“Whether that conversation is with the rest of Canada or with your trading partners,” he noted, “you need to be talking to the United States, you need to be talking to Europe, and you need to be talking to Asia. (Redford) understands the whole broader scale of this world economy.”
The leadership shown by Redford over the last few months has, for Casey, reminded him of another time in Alberta politics where things were stagnant until Peter Lougheed, often referred to as one of Canada’s greatest premiers, arrived.
“I don’t think we could have done better with Redford,” he said. “Peter Lougheed came along at a time in Alberta history where we needed to get caught up. We were stuck in a structure for a number of years and he brought new sensibility.
“I think the premier we have now has the same kinds of sensibilities,” he added. “She understands that it’s not just oil and gas, it’s also culture, healthcare and recreation. It’s about making Alberta the best place in the world to live.”
