Something I don’t often get to talk about in my day-to-day interactions with my constituents is my role as Government House Leader, but (aside from being a dad and the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, of course) it’s one of the roles I’m most proud of.
I’m proud to be a part of a UCP team that hit the ground running ready to work on day one of our mandate. Over a record-breaking seven-week session, the UCP government introduced and passed 13 Bills, and 55 platform commitments are either fully implemented or well underway. We articulated a remarkable and detailed vision for the province and we are well on the way to fulfilling many of the promises we’ve made to Albertans.
That’s where my role as House Leader comes in. The House Leader is responsible for shepherding Bills through the Legislature by ensuring debate occurs in a timely manner – no small feat during a 46 hour filibuster like the one we saw just before the spring Legislative Session ended. NDP MLAs tried to block the passage of several UCP bills by talking nonsense for hours on end, but we stood strong.
Through perseverance, we were able to ensure the passage of legislation like Bill 1, An Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax, which is saving Alberta families as much as $1,150 a year and the average small business about $4,500 a year. We also enacted a critical job creation tax cut in the form of Bill 2. We’re fighting to bring balance back to labour laws to get Albertans back to work and launching a public inquiry into foreign funds that target Alberta’s energy industry.
And this is only the beginning.
We have a difficult task in front of us. The province is still reeling from four years of NDP mismanagement and the Opposition has made it clear they intend to fight us tooth and nail on every piece of legislation we bring before the House. But I can’t think of a group of people I’d rather be working with to get the job done than my colleagues in the UCP government.
As a former offensive lineman, I can testify to the critical importance of building a solid team and identifying solid leaders on the field. The Legislature is the same, and it’s amazing to watch my fellow Ministers and MLAS – some of whom are very new to their roles – come into their own as policymakers and to have seen them shine so much in the positions they were elected for. Each has his or her own talents they bring to the table, and it’s such a pleasure for me to figure out how to best utilize these in the House to achieve our most important goal as a government – bringing jobs and prosperity back to Alberta.
For more information, contact:
Constituency Office
117 Centre St. Sundre, AB T0M 1X0
Phone 403-638-5029
Twitter: @JasonNixonAB
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jason.j.nixon?fref=ts
E-mail: rimbey.rockymountainhouse.sundre@assembly.ab.ca