EXPEL 'BAD GUYS,' DINNING PROPOSES

Alberta's prosperity is attracting an unsavoury element, says a
leading candidate for the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives.

And Jim Dinning thinks the province needs to be more innovative when
it comes to protecting its residents, especially the young.

"It's something the province has to get serious about, because as
the prosperity grows, so comes the bad guys, and we want to throw
them out of the province and make Alberta a very inhospitable place
for bad guys," said Dinning while speaking at a luncheon meeting of
the Red Deer East Rotary Club.

The father of four pointed to the trade in crystal meth as being
particularly insidious. He described how the highly addictive drug
can be unknowingly ingested by a young person.

"The notion of crystal meth being laced into a bag of marijuana, and
hooking those kids effectively for life, is a crime that I can't comprehend."

Dinning praised Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski for her role
on a provincial task force that developed recommendations on how to
combat crystal meth.

It's time to act on those recommendations, he said.

Asked about privatization of health care, Dinning said the message
from Albertans has been loud and clear: they want a publicly funded
system and are not interested in the "third way." With some
innovation, he added, the public system can be made to work.

Much of Dinning's presentation focused on the "building block
themes" of his campaign: preparation, innovation and conservation.

He said government must prepare for the future by investing in
children, education, healthy families and healthy communities. This
should include a tax system that recognizes parenting is an
important and expensive job.

"We're going to increase the family employment tax credit so that
dollars will flow back into parents' pockets."

Post-secondary institutions like Red Deer College and Olds College
should receive the resources they need to ensure all high school
graduates have a place in the system, he said.

On the theme of innovation, Dinning said in addition to bitumen
upgraders and petrochemical plants, investment in alternative
sources of energy should be encouraged, he said. Biofuel and ethanol
initiatives should also be supported.

"That's what's going to keep our farms stronger in the future."

Innovation might also help address issues like the lack of
affordable housing, suggested Dinning. The three levels of
government should work with the private sector to find solutions.

On the conservation front, Dinning stressed his commitment to
protecting landscapes, watersheds and airsheds.

He called for the implementation of the province's Water for Life
Strategy, and for storage capacity along rivers to be increased so
"we're able to keep what we're entitled to keep."

He also acknowledged the need to manage water resources like the Red
Deer River.

"We've got to make sure we're smart about the allocation of water in
the Red Deer River and along this river basin, and we don't do
anything that we have to look back at our kids 25 years from now and
say, 'Oops, we made some wrong decisions.' "

Dinning said he would like to see an integrated land-use plan so
there is clarity and certainty for the agricultural, oil and gas and
forestry industries, as well as recreational users and municipalities.

He also stressed the importance of fiscal responsibility on the part
of the province, and a "transparent and comprehensive" capital plan
so that municipalities, school boards, colleges and health regions
can plan for the future.

The inadequacy of wages paid to people working for social service
agencies was identified as a concern by Dinning. These workers are
instrumental in helping immigrants, the homeless, the disabled and
others in need, but they could migrate to other higher-paying jobs, he said.

"They have been short-changed and they are the glue in our social
infrastructure and our social network."

In response to a suggestion that Alberta is "giving away" its
resources under the existing provincial royalty structure, Dinning
said the system was necessary in the early 1990s to attract
investment into the oilsands. However, the province will still take
in $2 billion in unconventional resource revenues and more than $3
billion from the sale of Crown leases and bonus payments this year, he said.

The system should only be tinkered with after careful thought, warned Dinning.

"You don't play with investor confidence, and if you do, you play
with it at your peril."