NDP Leader Rachel Notley made a visit to Fort MacMurray recently, and while she was in town she pushed for a job creation tax credit. The visit was a scheduled campaign stop for the politician, and an effort to get her views heard and gain supporters in the Fort MacMurray area. The incumbent PC candidates, Mike Allen and Don Scott, have criticized the plan and called the NDP a job killing party. Notley told the media “Our plan is focused on encouraging the other sectors of the economy that have an opportunity now to jump forward. There’s a loosening in the labour market and there’s a loosening in capital. We know extraction is carrying on at the same rate, even though they’re not necessarily getting the same return on it. Part of it is going to carry on so it’s just a question of how long do these prices last and what does it do to those projects that are planned? That’s where we’re going to see the biggest impact.”

The job creation tax credit that Rachel Notley is pitching is just part of her campaign platform. The NDP candidate also feels strongly about the lack of healthcare resources that Alberta residents face on a daily basis. Notley explained “This is an economic engine, but in terms of the services to the people who live in this town, that tends to come second. To suggest you can take $1 billion out of health care and not have it impact front line services is ludicrous.”