Taylor Lowery has lived in Alberta for the last seven years. For the last 15 years, she has worked with special needs youth.  

She is very passionate about providing a green option on the ballot in the Lacombe-Ponoka riding. 

 

The LacombeOnline Newsroom has contacted all candidates in the Lacombe-Ponoka riding. Their interviews are being posted to our elections page you can find here.  

Please note: if candidates do not respond to our inquiries, we will not be able to post their candidate profiles.   

 

How does your party plan to address inflation and the rising cost of living? 

The Green Party thinks of inflation as an affordability crisis. The main strategy is basic income and to directly give money to people so that they have the freedom to make decisions where that money goes. Really the idea of basic income is to streamline support. 

The worry doesn't have to be about inflation and things skyrocketing higher and higher. People have a safety net and kind of help eradicate poverty, social issues, crime. That's the idea there. 

 

In what ways does your party plan on diversifying Alberta’s economy?  

The focus in the Green economy is the well-being economy. So not looking at simply the GDP. We like to look at people valuing people, valuing their experience in the system, valuing their health, their happiness, their communities, and supporting farmers is important, especially in the area of Lacombe-Ponoka. 

We’re wanting to bring systemic solutions, very proactive solutions, and something a little different. [We’re] bringing more diversity to the table in terms of talking about the economy and what matters to people. 

 

In what ways does your party support senior care? 

The way that we support Green Party supports senior care is really looking at it comprehensively, having comprehensive health care, which means mental healthcare, pharmacare, physiotherapy, which is part of a universal system—which we say we have right now, but don't really. 

Looking at it more holistically really and proactively.  

 

How does your party plan on addressing the health care shortage? 

[We’re] really wanting to look at the people first so that's both the healthcare workers and the patients. We want a really strongly funded system that we can depend on once again. That comes from a more comprehensive view. 

Basic income could help with this people can take care of themselves. They won't be as scarce and looking for ways to take care of themselves. They can make better decisions, if they just have a safety net. 

 

Does your party have any plans to improve justice in Alberta? 

I believe in restorative justice and having people around the table that this [restorative justice] excites them as well. Not just their retributive or punitive systems, but start to look at some proactive solutions and one I see is restorative justice. Having more people around the table, in circle, eye to eye, and really, including First Nations that really comes first if you ask the Greens. 

 

Is there anything else you'd like to add? 

We'd really like everyone to check out the platform. You can see it at albertagreens.ca. 

My being a candidate in the Ponoka-Lacombe area, is about having a green representative there. I grew up in Ottawa and moved to Alberta seven years ago and I was like right downtown and I took for granted the first time I went to go vote at 18. There were seven to eight choices on the ballot. I got to make a decision that really felt in alignment with my values. 

If we want a strong democracy, we want more people and to have more diversity around the table. For me, what’s particularly important is the youth, getting the youth out to vote, and for them seeing a young person who might be more in alignment with their values and for them to have that choice.