August 22, 2011
PC leadership candidate Alison Redford responds to NorQuest questionnaire
EDMONTON - NorQuest College was proud to host a PC leadership candidates' reception at our Westmount Campus on July 26, 2011. Leadership candidate Alison Redford has provided responses to our questionnaire and we are pleased to share them with all Albertans.
1. How would you approach the need for additional health-care professionals in Alberta in the short-term and over the next decade and beyond? What is the role for government, post-secondary institutions and industry in meeting that need?
A: There's no question that Alberta will need more health-care professionals in the coming years. Over the short term, I would like to step up recruitment efforts outside the province, making established health-care workers elsewhere aware of the Alberta Advantage. Over the longer term, my government will work closely with post-secondary institutions to expand training capacities and attract more students into the profession, especially from rural areas and First Nations reserves. Government, schools and the industry must work in tandem to maximize the impact of recruitment campaigns.
2. What are your ideas on how to ensure Alberta is able to capitalize on our best resource, our people?
A: I want Albertans in every field to be working at the highest level of their professional abilities. The best way to achieve this is to provide them with a responsive government and strong public services. People who feel secure in their lifestyles and confident the government is listening to their concerns are better able to excel.
3. Please comment on your plans for providing predictable and sustainable funding for post-secondary institutions in Alberta.
A: I will put post-secondary institutions on a 3-year funding cycle with room for modest growth. This will allow schools to plan ahead to meet staffing needs and maintain stable enrollment levels, preventing prospective students from losing out on places thanks to sudden budget needs.
4. Please comment on your plans for providing predictable and sustainable infrastructure funding to post-secondary institutions in Alberta. Would you change anything about the current process?
A: The 3-year funding cycle will also apply to infrastructure. Institutions like NorQuest must be able to confidently make capital investments to meet rising demand and train the next generation of professionals.
5. How should Alberta balance the need to increase literacy levels and improve readiness at the same time as advancing post-secondary options?
A: In this regard, Alberta Education's Inspiring Education report offers a way forward. By making learning more student-centered and using non-traditional teaching methods, I hope to lower the dropout rate and raise students' interest in a variety of post-secondary options.
6. The Regional Stewardship Program is still relatively new. Funding has not yet been ramped up to reflect demand and expectations of the communities we serve. What is your vision for providing access to post-secondary education across the province, in particular outside the major centres?
A: First of all, my government will offer a range of bursaries and scholarships targeted at student in isolated rural areas to help them defray the costs of a post-secondary education. I will also run recruitment campaigns to get these students interested in post-secondary education and aware of the options available to them after high school. Finally, I will build on the success of the SuperNet and extend affordable, always-on high-speed Internet access everywhere across Alberta, strengthening distance learning.
7. What are some innovative ways in which Alberta can continue to build on the use of applied research in helping communities address challenges in the workplace and beyond?
A: My government will fund research beyond the laboratory, identifying emerging technologies and developing centres of excellence focused on them across Alberta. For instance, Lethbridge College already has a considerable knowledge base in the area of wind power and by expanding the program and attracting outside companies to the region, I want to make southern Alberta a hotbed of wind power innovation. Nanotechnology is another promising area of research. I will also create an independent organization based on the Lougheed-era Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. I will endow it with stable, long-term funding and a mandate to foster partnerships between Alberta-based companies and research institutions and allies around the world, with the goal of designing, testing and implementing next-generation sustainable energy solutions.
8. What is your view of the role of post-secondary institutions in the economic development of Alberta's communities, in particular with the cyclical nature of our economy and the offset funding cycle received by post-secondary institutions in Alberta?
A: As I mentioned earlier, my government will stabilize post-secondary funding on a 3-year cycle. This will make post-secondary institutions invaluable in local economic development. Regardless of dips and peaks in the economy, post-secondary institutions will have funding they can count on and a need (to train a growing workforce) that will not fade away. This will make post-secondary institutions at all times dependable sources of jobs, contracts, services and revenues for surrounding communities.
9. What are some of your ideas to address the workforce pressures in health care primarily due to an aging population?
A: Alberta will not be able to produce enough workers in its own right to cover health-care demands and this means we will have to look abroad. My government will run recruitment campaigns and simplify paperwork for qualified health-care professionals outside Canada. However, recruitment is about more than ad campaigns. I will focus on improving Alberta's quality of life through measures like putting family care clinics in every community to reduce wait times, increasing school choice and placing renewed emphasis on culture and the arts. Strong public services, dependable funding, steady jobs and attention to community spirit will make our province an enviable place to live, leaving skilled foreigners clamouring to experience the Alberta Advantage for themselves.
NorQuest College would like to thank Ms. Redford for taking the time to respond to the questionnaire. For more information, visit www.alisonredford.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Yuri Wuensch
Communications
NorQuest College
Office: (780) 644-5924
Mobile: (780) 288-3813
yuri.wuensch@norquest.ca
