After months of speculation, Gary Mar joined the Tory leadership race, making announcements in Calgary and Edmonton on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Mar resigned from his post as Alberta’s official representative in Washington, D.C., a job he held since 2007. He became the fifth person to enter the race to replace outgoing leader Ed Stelmach, joining Ted Morton, Alison Redford, Doug Griffiths and local MLA Doug Horner.
In his speech Wednesday, Mar, a former Klein-era cabinet minister, stressed fiscal responsibility, individual rights and a free and open economy.
“Albertans need to know where we are going as a government, they need to understand why we are trying to get there and then they need to have the confidence we can do the job,” Mar said.
“We are ready for a government that gets it.”
Mar said the last three years have helped him gain new perspective on the opportunities for Alberta on the global scene.
“Our province is at an important crossroads, at a time when the world is rapidly changing,” he said.
“In the coming years, our province will have incredible global opportunities that translate into jobs and lasting prosperity.”
In Washington, Mar represented Alberta’s interests to U.S. policymakers and sought out growth opportunities for the province.
He served as an MLA from 1993 to 2007 and has held five cabinet positions, including education, environment and health.
Recently, MLA Raj Sherman named Mar specifically in allegations that health care officials were involved in intimidation, cover-ups and payouts. Sherman has alleged that 250 cancer patients died while waiting for care and that millions in hush money was paid to doctors.
“I have no recollection of that,” Mar said, when asked Wednesday if he knew of any payoffs, or of the deaths.
“Let me qualify that by saying, there may have been something that was said to me back then that I don't have a recollection of now, but obviously if I don't recall it now it didn't make that great of an impression on me."
Last week the government announced the Health Quality Council of Alberta would look into allegations of people dying while waiting for cancer care, and of patients who died while waiting for treatment in emergency rooms.
Despite the announcement, opposition parties are calling for a full public inquiry into Sherman’s allegations.
"If there's information that can help improve our system I'm in favour of having that information come out, but if there's information that suggests there's a criminal fraud or misbehaviour that attracts a criminal liability then the police should be involved immediately,” Mar said, when asked if there should be a full public inquiry.
“I'm not afraid of any such review,” he said.
“During my time as minister of health, we actually accomplished terrific things and we delivered a better healthcare system then and that's something I would want to focus on in the future.”
