The City of Airdrie played host to an all candidates forum Tuesday night at City Hall.

Mayor Peter Brown said that to his knowledge, the city had never hosted a provincial forum before.

“When you’re going to vote you need to educate yourself,” said Mayor Brown. “You need to meet the people you’re going to vote for, become informed, understand the issues that are important to our community.”

All candidates in the ridings of Airdrie East and Airdrie Cochrane were invited to attend. United Conservative Party candidates Angela Pitt and Peter Guthrie were not in attendance. The city said they had prior commitments and were unable to make it. Steve Durrell, the NDP candidate for Airdrie-Cochrane was also away, but his Airdrie East cohort was in attendance.

City Council and staff came up with eight questions to ask the candidates who did attend. The first focused on sustainable funding for municipalities with the province eliminating Municipal Sustainability Initiative grants.

Alberta party candidates Alex Lutterbach and Vern Raincock suggested a per-capita funding model so cities have more proportionate and sustainable funding.

Freedom Conservative Party (FCP) candidates Rick Northey and Matthew Morrisey, suggested providing no strings attached funding so cities could put provincial dollars to use wherever they see fit.

The Danielle Cameron and Jeff Olson with the newly formed Alberta Independence Party(AIP), said they want to see Alberta separate from the rest of Canada. They suggest money saved from taxes and transfer payments would go back to municipalities and ridings would all receive $36 million.

Council also asked about funding for the Victims Assistance Services, saying that because it’s not a service the local service only gets half the operating money of others.

The independent candidate Richard Herdman asked why that was and said the MLA should be negotiating for better support and using social media as a platform to do that.

NDP candidate Roxie Baez Zamora said crime has been a priority of the previous government and that the NDP helped fund initiatives like the Crime Reduction Unit in the RCMP.

Rocky View Schools was another topic of discussion. With the school district estimating it will reach 100 per cent utilization by 2022, the city wanted to know what candidates would do to secure more schools for Airdrie and area.

Northey and Morrisey the FCP want to see equal funding for all schools and the development of more private and charter schools.

Baez Zamora said the NDP have invested in schools in Airdrie, announcing two new schools since taking office and one school renovation.

Lutterback and Raincock said there needs to be funding for the schools and classrooms that already exist and the Alberta Party wants to ensure teachers have the funding they need for things like support workers and teachers aides.

One of the biggest issues the city has been dealing with is funding for the 40 Avenue overpass. The city has been advocating for the project since 2004. It has an estimated price tag of $65 million but has only received $2 million over the last four years from the province toward the project.

With that in mind, City Councillors wanted to know how they will ensure the project receives funding.

Cameron and Olson with the AIP said that if Alberta votes to separate from the rest of Canada, the city can use that estimated $36 million dollar surplus payment to help cover the cost.

Baez Zamora with the NDP said she would advocate for funding for the project from the federal government.

The Alberta Party’s and Raincock, say the project is a priority for the next MLA to advocate for as it would help spur residential and business growth in the community.

Northey and Morrisey with the FCP say it’s important to focus on completing the bridge rather than the proposed traffic circle south of along range road 11 (8 Street) and Highway 566.

Independent candidate Richard Herdman said he thinks he should borrow $150 million from the mayor to get it done.

The city asked several other questions including the need for increased capacity at the local Provincial Courthouse, the need for affordable housing, changes to RCMP service funding and advocating for health initiatives.

If you want to hear more from the candidate on these topics the city will be posting the Forum online for residents to watch at their leisure. To view the forum click HERE.

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