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Ft Mac Politics

Wildrose Leadership Campaign Suspended by Brian Jean

Brian Jean, Wildrose Leadership

Brian Jean has suspended his Wildrose Leadership campaign due to the death of his son, 24 year old Michael Jean. The campaign suspension was announced on Facebook and through a press release, with the note that Jean would not be campaigning until further notice because of the loss of his son. Michael Jean was hospitalized for the last 8 months, as a patient at the University of Alberta Hospital, with an undiagnosed illness. Brian Jean was notified Friday morning that his son had passed away, and the campaign was suspended almost immediately afterwards. Brian did not drop out of the race, he has just suspended his campaigning activities while he takes care of things and grieves his son. Events scheduled for the campaign continued, with the exception that Derek Fildebrandt stood in for Jean.

When Brian Jean announced his bid for Wildrose Leadership a little over a month ago he gave a speech that said he was influenced to run due to the current state of taxation, healthcare management, and infrastructure. The hospitalization of his son played a part in the decision as well, because as Brian Jean stated “Doctors and nurses are working “in a horrible, broken and bureaucratic, inefficient system — it is the most frustrating and inefficient system I’ve ever seen. These worries pushed me to seek the Wildrose leadership.” Fildebrandt expressed his sympathy and condolences for the Jean family loss, saying “We all have a lot of faith in him. He is the best one to lead the Wildrose Party and supported by the vast majority of candidates. Our campaign is still full-steam ahead.”

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Economic Ft Mac Politics

Is Jim Prentice Elitist? Brian Jean Says Yes!

Brian Jean, Jim Prentice

According to Brian Jean, who is the Wildrose leadership candidate, Jim Prentice is an elitist based on some of his recent comments. An interview last Wednesday with CBC radio Prentice commented that “In terms of who is responsible, we all need only look in the mirror, right. Basically all of us have had the best of everything and have not had to pay for what it costs. Collectively we got into this as Albertans and collectively we’re going to get out of it and everybody is going to have to shoulder some share of the responsibility.” This statement did not go well with Brian Jean, who responded “To suggest we as Albertans are at fault? My goodness gracious, give your head a shake. You are to blame and the people standing behind and beside you are to blame. It is his PC party and his PC party alone created this mess. Bluntly speaking, they cannot be trusted. To say something so insulting as that, I say if he looks what’s in the mirror, he will see who is to blame.”

Brian Jean is not the only one who took offense at the comments that Jim Prentice made during the radio interview. According to Heather Forsyth, the Wildrose interim leader, “At a time many Albertans are worried about the value of their home plummeting, keeping their job or being able to make ends meet, Mr. Prentice’s comments blaming Albertans for being directly at fault for the PC government’s gross fiscal mismanagement shows how deeply out-of-touch this 44-year-old government has become.” Rachel Notley, the NDP leader, also spoke out against the comments and demanded an apology by stating “Perhaps we should be asking what Mr. Prentice would see if he looked in the mirror. He would see the leader of a tired 44-year-old government that has squandered our resource wealth. He would see a leader who is telling Albertans they will pay more to get less, while giving their money away in tax breaks to big banks, large corporations and high-income Albertans.”

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Ft Mac Politics

Brian Jean Officially Runs for Wildrose Leadership Position

Brian Jean, Wildrose leadership position

Brian Jean, who was previously the Fort McMurray-Athabasca MP, has officially announced that he will run for the Wildrose leadership position. According to Jean, who turned in his resignation as the MP last year, healthcare is a pivotal issue that is very personal. Jean describes being shocked at hoe his youngest son has been treated in the system, and he feels that this issue needs to be addressed immediately. Brian called the healthcare system the “most frustrating and inefficient system I’ve ever seen.” The first confirmation from the previous MP that he would even try for the position did not come until last week, and if he does not get the leadership position he is after Jean still plans to run in the provincial election.

When Brian Jean discussed trying for the Wildrose leadership position he said “I have argued for protecting individual rights and freedoms and will continue to do so. How can you keep the government from taking your money and wasting it if you don’t have strong opposition? The more MLAs you have in opposition, the more ability we have to dig up what they’re doing and vote against them when they get it wrong. I’m very disappointed in Prentice. He made a lot of promises and I believed he would fix the PC party. Instead, we are seeing a lot of the same people who were here under Redford. How you can have $50 oil and not be able to properly balance the books is bizarre. How you can have $100 oil for years and fall so behind is absolutely criminal.”