By Liam Rockliffe, for the Independent
Running for United Conservative Party leadership, Travis Toews made a stop in Stettler on July 16.
During this meeting, he responded to questions and concerns made by residents of the community, extending a hand of recognition to small-town Alberta.
Hosted in the Stettler Canalta Hotel meeting room, the meet and greet started at 11:30 A.M. with access being open to anyone as long as they had confirmed attendance online prior.
Toews had himself set up in one-half of the meeting room where he presented what could be expected should he win the party leadership.
The room was filled with viewers ranging from all ages, and refreshments were made available on a side-table.
Toews is a lifelong Albertan who operated as Alberta’s minister of finance under Jason Kenney.
Prior to being elected into provincial government, Toews worked as a Chartered Professional Accountant, rancher and business owner who ran an oilfield environmental company.
Running for UCP leadership, Toews hopes to strengthen Alberta’s standing in Canada, and he plans on doing this heavily through his knowledge of economics and what he learned during his time as finance minister.
With the pandemic still fresh in everyone’s mind, Alberta Health Services did not escape discussion.
Toews questioned an Alberta Health Services (AHS) performance report, stating that the report “didn’t get to the core of where it needed to go”.
Toews opinion was based on an old auditor’s perspective that the firm which conducted the report has done work for AHS for years, and from his view, when an auditor isn’t swapped out after three years, as an old auditor himself, one begins to lose their “healthy skepticism” and “it’s only natural for a trust relationship to form.”
This segued into his next point on health care in which he stated that AHS largely has a monopoly over health care in Alberta.
In Toews’ opinion, there may be better options kept aside from AHS.
Covenant Health was named and Toews stated that healthcare industries must share the reigns with AHS in healthcare delivery.
Toews states this would create a “bit of competition” and “a bit of accountability” once more in healthcare delivery.