EDMONTON - Our "Capital View" series continues Thursday with a look what a Liberal government could mean for Edmonton.
Liberal leader Raj Sherman is proposing several ideas to help deal with our city's growth pressures. With the LRT being a big and expensive initiative for Edmonton, Sherman feels his party has a plan to put things on track.
"We will also increase the carbon levy and apply it to absolute emissions. That will generate $300 million dollars a year every year for Edmonton, without political interference for greening our public transit system."
Sherman added that while his party would help with municipal funding, it would stay out of the decision-making process.
"That's the issue of the municipal governments," he says. "Our job is to give the funding and provide a sustainable funding mechanism. That's a local decision that the citizens of Edmonton and the leaders of Edmonton must make."
Like other parties, the Liberals are also looking at the potential for increasing resource revenues, where a portion would go into a new fund for infrastructure.
"The Liberal government would bring in a Municipal Heritage fund," says Sherman. "Let's take our resource revenue, our non-renewable resource revenue, put it in the Municipal Heritage Fund. It will be sustainable, predictable funding."
Political scientist Jim Lighhtbody describes the Liberals as "a party that marches to the urban Alberta beat."
While Sherman says he feels government needs to stop with the divide of urban/rural, Lightbody says if the party forms government - which he believes is unlikely - one of two things could happen.
"Because they are a city based party, they have to be very cautious in favouring city ambitions. Or they could be very thorough and very helpful on major initiatives such as rebuilding the core infrastructure," Lightbody says.
Our "Capital View concludes Friday with a look at how an Alberta Party would impact Edmonton.
With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News
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