With the provincial election campaign now in its second week, the various parties vying for seats in the April 16 vote have been busy trying to convince voters to buy into their respective platforms.
Not surprisingly, the front-running Alberta New Democratic Party and the United Conservative Party have been taking shots at each other over all the principal issues.
In particular, NDP Leader Rachel Notley and UCP Leader Jason Kenney have been exchanging barbs at every turn. Whether it’s over education, health care, leadership, taxes or the economy, the fight is well and truly underway.
Which party will end up on top following the provincial vote remains anyone’s guess. What is known is that whichever party or parties form government, rural Alberta communities will be expecting fair and equitable treatment from the new administration.
For example, during its spring convention last week, the Rural Municipalities of Alberta Association passed a motion calling on the next provincial government to make more agriculture-specific mental health resources available to rural communities.
The resolution calls, in part, on the government to “facilitate the formation of a free, year-round, all hours, mental health crisis hotline, dedicated to the agriculture industry, providing farm families with direct access to uniquely qualified professionals and resources, who have both an understanding of mental health issues and agriculture-specific stresses.”
The resolution also calls on the government to “secure long-term, sustainable funding for the operation and maintenance of this mental health crisis hotline.”
Agriculture is absolutely essential to the economic and social well-being of Alberta, and indeed the rest of Canada. At the same time, the industry can be very stressful, leading to mental illness diagnoses for many farmers and ranchers.
As such, the new provincial government – whether UCP, NDP or otherwise – has an obligation to protect the mental health of the thousands of Albertans engaged in the vital agriculture industry.
When the dust settles after April 16, rural Albertans will be expecting the new government to give them a fair hearing on issues that matter to farm families.
Dan Singleton is the Mountain View Gazette editor
