October Report

                          

                             The Legislature is back in session and I am excited to be back there and speaking out on your behalf. There is much work to be done on a whole range of issues and it has been great to be getting so much feedback from the constituents of Calgary Currie.  Alberta faces some significant challenges, but Calgarians like to focus on solutions and there are real opportunities to move forward.

                              Albertans have repeatedly expressed their discontent with a royalty structure that is outdated and in need of change. The Alberta Liberal Caucus has consistently called for a new structure that gives Albertans with a fair return for their resources while maintaining Alberta’s competitive economic advantage. It is for this reason that we called on the provincial government to raise royalties by 20% as recommended by the Alberta Royalty Review Panel and the Auditor General.                      

                           Moreover, the new structure must be enforced.  Albertans missed out on billions of dollars this decade under the current royalty regime, because the Conservative government hasn’t been minding the store.  The job going forward is to get the royalty increase right.  We must make sure that Albertans get their fair share while balancing the need to preserve a strong economy where one out of every two jobs is connected to the oil and gas industry. 

                      Affordable housing remains a critical issue in Calgary-Currie and right across Alberta.  I have spent a considerable amount of time on this issue and we’ve identified solutions.  The most important thing to do now is to put them into action. The Alberta Liberal Calgary Caucus recently held a town hall meeting on homelessness. As winter is fast approaching we must provide emergency spaces for people to sleep while focusing on the long-term strategies to end homelessness. Those who spend this winter in a shelter should not need to do the same next year.  I will continue to take a lead role in making sure the Province of Alberta addresses this.

                      Crime is an important challenge currently facing our communities. While I support more police on the ground to respond quickly, we need to look at investing in prevention programs as an critical part of any solution. Neighbourhood schools help make for vibrant, sustainable communities and liveable cities. Investments in public transit should continue so people don’t always have to drive.  It’s good for the environment – and for our stress level.   Preserving our parks and natural spaces is key to any successful big city.  So are strong families and they need quality, available child care.  

                       I am always happy to hear your feedback and to go to bat for you to ensure that we can get things done. Our office is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm. As your MLA, my job is to facilitate solutions. That works best when we all work together.

Dave

Committee on Managing our Growth

 

I’ve just spent the last couple of days in Edmonton in my position as Deputy Chair of the new Standing Policy Committee on Managing Growth Pressures, where I’m pleased to report some success on the affordable housing front.

These standing policy committees of the Legislature – there are four of them – are all-party committees.  That’s standard operating procedure in many other parliamentary jurisdictions;   here in Alberta – like democracy, some cynics might say – they’re a new animal.

The Managing Growth Pressures Committee held its organizational meeting a couple of weeks ago, and after some all-too predictable posturing, the committee members seemed to “get it” that here was an opportunity to work together in a multipartisan way as elected Members of the Legislature to do some actual good for Albertans.  It doesn’t mean that we all think alike or that we’ll always agree, but we can put our diverse views on the table in a constructive fashion to make some good decisions, good policy and recommendations for effective legislation.  Kinda like you expect of us.

Between that meeting and this week’s, the committee members were canvassed to determine what we thought the top three issues should be for consideration by the committee.  The runaway top issue – which was the issue that I put on the table at the initial meeting — was affordable housing.  

After I got over the initial shock of gaining all-party support for an Alberta Liberal initiative, I realized in retrospect that it probably wasn’t all that surprising.  When you can get individual Conservative MLAs away from the hive, many of them can actually get a reasonable grip on reality.  And the reality is this – in their constituencies, as in mine:  

We haven’t solved the affordable housing crisis.

We can solve the affordable housing crisis.

We have a duty to Albertans to solve the affordable housing crisis.

Because everybody needs a home.

We have decided that our first project as a committee will be to take a good hard look at the laws on our books that get in the way of creating affordable housing and come back to the Legislature with recommendations for changes to those laws when it resumes sitting in November.  

Under the rules that established these committees, we could have taken six months to complete this project;   we’ve decided to do it in about two.

Dave

Some recent events…

Hello Bloggers, 

For those of you who went to Marda Loop’s Annual Mardi Gras, I think you’ll agree with me that it was a good time for all. A big thank you to Linda, Ralph, Leila, Ruth and Eilish for helping run my booth and to those who put Marda Gras together; it was a huge success and I appreciate all your hard work that made it so. I hope to see you all there again next year.  

Another important event that I recently attended was the release of the 10 year plan from Calgary Committee to End Homelessness. This year their guest speaker was Dr. Sam Tsemberis, founder of the program Pathways to Housing. This program challenges the traditional idea that the most effective way to solving homelessness is by first helping people overcome their addictions or mental issues before finding them housing.  

Pathways to Housing offers a new alternative that distinguishes housing and treatment by providing housing first and treatment second. The idea is that once a person has a home they will work harder to keep that home including seeing their treatment programs though to the end. So far the program has demonstrated an extraordinary large success rate across North America.  

Homelessness is on the rise here in Calgary and perhaps it is time that we look at alternatives to address this issue. For more information on Pathways to Housing, please check out http://www.pathwaystohousing.org 

August Report

With the summer months coming to a close it I want to say how great it has been to meet with so many of my constituents. Now that the Stampede is over I think I have eaten enough pancakes to last me until next year. The feedback I have heard over the summer has been helpful in focusing my attention on the work ahead. I will continue to meet with as many of you as possible leading into the fall Legislative session.

A number of issues are a priority for all of us:  

Affordable housing remains a pressing concern. I will continue to press the government on this issue. The rent supplement program has been depleted, which points to the need for a more comprehensive plan. Everybody needs a home, and the Alberta Liberal Caucus strategy will allow renters to keep a roof over their heads, while making real strides to create a sustainable supply of new affordable housing.

Health Care continues to present challenges for our growing population. The recent release of Calgary’s census shows that our population growth is not only coming from outside the province but our maternity rates are booming as well. This baby boom is exciting but we must prepare for the future. The decisions we make now will greatly impact the world they grow up in. It was good to hear the government will be fully funding the South hospital though we are all still waiting to see shovels go into the ground. 

Investments in public transit are an important part of the cities infrastructure needs. In order for our transit system to be effective, it needs several things.  It must be planned to meet the demand of the residents of the city.  It must have access to funding from all levels of government as well as the private sector. An effective transit system is one that provides a practical alternative to the automobile, less costly to the wallet and to the environment.   

Calgary is not a city that will settle for mediocre solutions to complex problems.  Whether it’s roads, schools, health care, recreation, environmental protection, public transit, police and emergency services, housing, neighbourhood preservation or anything else that goes into making a great city, we are an innovative people who want the Province of Alberta to share our vision and grant us the flexibility to get there.   

I am always happy to receive invitations to community events, so please keep me informed and I will do my best to attend. If you have any questions or concerns about anything in your community or want to talk with me about an issue you are having please do not hesitate to contact my office at 246–4794.

Welcome to my Blog

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out my blog. This is a brand new way I am hoping to reach out and communicate with Calgarians, Albertans and anyone else interested in some of the ideas I would like to share and issues I would like to talk about. Please be patient; this blog will be developed further in the coming weeks as I become more familiar with using it. I look forward to hearing back from all.

Thanks,

 Dave Taylor