A better future for Alberta

with Rachel Notley

The battle for Alberta is on now between two powerful women: former premier Rachel Notley and current premier Danielle Smith. Notley served as the 17th premier of Alberta from 2015 to 2019. She has been the leader of the Opposition since 2019. She is a member of Legislative Assembly for Edmonton-Strathcona. She is married to Lou Arab and she has two children.

What are the pressing reasons why you want to be the Premier again? I want to rebuild our public healthcare so that every Alberta family can get the care they need, when they need it, close to home. I want to build a resilient jobs economy, and I want to get families’ monthly bills under control. Danielle Smith and the UCP are focused on extremists, not Alberta families.

Education and healthcare seem to be the key issues around your campaign - Can you describe the work that needs to be done for Black Albertans regard - ing anti- racism and empowerment?

An Alberta NDP government will pass the Anti-Racism Act, which will begin the critical work of gathering race-based data. It’s disappointing the UCP voted against this.

Race-based data will let us identify where our education and health systems are not serving Black Albertans – and other racialized Albertans – properly. We will develop a modern curriculum that honours the experiences of Black Albertans and embeds the values of anti-racism throughout.

We will also work to expand access to capital for Black entrepreneurs.

Please can you re-iterate your commitment to creating more school spaces in Edmonton’s overcrowded schools and $10 a day daycare?

Albertans can be confident that an Alber- ta NDP government will build more schools in growing neighbourhoods and hire more teachers and educational assistants so that kids in growing areas aren’t forced into overcrowded classes. We will also accelerate the implementation of $10/ day daycare to save families money and allow parents to re-enter the workforce.

Can you share your three top priorities for Alberta?

Rebuilding public healthcare and connecting a million Albertans with a family doctor. Getting monthly bills and costs under control for Albertans.

Building a resilient jobs economy.

Some of your online campaigns can be perceived as negative - will it get worse as we get into the election season?

I’m very proud of all the positive proposals we have made to Albertans, and I encourage folks to visit albertandp.ca to see all our commitments. It’s our job to hold the government accountable when they cause harm to Albertans, and we won’t be shy about speaking up when we see the UCP causing harm.

What are ordinary Alber- tans telling you when you go door-knocking?

Albertans are tired of a reckless and unpredictable UCP, led by someone who is more interested in extremists than regular Albertans. They want their public healthcare to be there when they need it, they want to cover their bills each month, and they want to know there’s a job for them and their kids in Alberta.

What plans have the premier got to support, enable and empower Black -English-speaking media?

The Alberta NDP appreciates the role that ethnic media plays in their communities and understands that their needs differ from more prominent media outlets.

Over the last four years, ethnic communities have received $7 million less in grants than they had under the Alberta NDP. We will reverse this.

We are committed to working with the media to explore options to ensure better access and inclusion.

Alberta NDP is being labelled by the Opposition as wanting to defund the Police. Please can you clarify your party’s position?

Our proposal to improve public safety in the downtowns of our major cities includes funding for additional police officers paired with more community support workers. We will ensure the streets are safe both by putting more police officers on the beat and also providing the housing and social services needed to reduce the desperation and mental illness in our communities.

Away from the stress of the elections, what do you do for your mental health?

I spend time with my family and friends, and I love to run in the Edmonton River Valley or wherever I find myself in the morning. As I travel around Alberta, my morning runs have been the way for me to see the most beautiful spots in our province.

Alberta goes to the polls May 29th.