For Liberal party candidate Garth Davis, health care is the major issue that is facing not only the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills constituency, but also Alberta.
“It does not matter if it's rural or city. You still have the health-care issues. We are not treating our seniors very well,” he said.
“Our facilities here are a mess. They are not clean enough. They are not properly maintained.”
While the liberal party has many solutions to fix the health-care system, privatization is not one of them.
“I am totally against the health-care privatization that Wildrose is proposing,” said Davis.
“All it does is kill the public system.”
He believes that one way of streamlining the health-care system is to adopt a health card similar to the one that's used in France.
“It's like a VISA card, with a security-encoded chip. On that chip is your complete health care history,” said Davis.
“If you ever are in a car accident, what happens is you put that card into the EMS card-reader and there's your whole history. You get to the hospital, you put the card into the card-reader and there's your history.”
Davis says that Albertans need to realize that under the present government, there were tremendous cutbacks to health and education.
“In education, they stopped funding maintenance and repairs for schools, colleges, and universities,” he said.
“That's why colleges and universities have to charge such high tuition fees because they have to get money from the students to repair and fix their facilities.”
Davis has been involved in provincial politics for the past 12 years. He was the Liberal candidate for the Innisfail-Sylvan Lake riding in the 2008 Alberta general elections. He finished second, with 13.88 per cent of the votes.
“I decided to get involved because I didn't like some of the policies that were being put on by the Progressive Conservative government,” said Davis.
“I have lived and worked in the area for 35 years. I know the area very well. I know a lot of residents.”
Davis taught agricultural management for 35 years at Olds College and still farms 10 miles east of Innisfail.
“I have a master's degree in farming and economics,” he said.
“I have also taught business management and economics. I have always been teaching in the business area.”
Frequent conversations with his students have kept him up to date on agricultural issues facing farmers and ranchers.
“One thing I want to put more emphasis on are Bills 19, 24, 36, and 50 and how they attack property owners and property rights. That's a big issue for me,” he said.
“The other issue is seniors, because I am now a senior. I also have an aunt that has Alzheimer's. I see the toll it's taking on her grandson, who's looking after her. The government doesn't give a lot of help.”
Davis will be visiting the Olds Municipal Library this Wednesday between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to talk with constituents. He will also participate in the candidates' debate on the same day at the Olds College Alumni Centre.
