United Conservative Party Leader Danielle Smith says she has written and spoken over a million words and sometimes she makes mistakes..During questioning on Monday from the media on the first day of the 2023 election campaign, Smith how she plans to defend herself from critics.."I'm not perfect. Everyone knows that. I've had 27 years in the public, and I have spoken and written millions of words. Sometimes I make mistakes," Smith said.."And every time I've made a mistake, I acknowledge it. I apologize if I've hurt anybody. And I promise to do better. I think that people don't expect the politicians to be perfect.".On Monday, Smith hit the ground running in Calgary and said the UCP government will create a new 8% tax bracket on income under $60,000. This means every Albertan earning $60,000 or more will save $760 – over $1,500 per family..Smith said on Monday, she would hope that people would judge her and the UCP team based on what they do.."We have done so much good in the four years that we've been in government, and we've done so much good as a united team since I became leader," Smith said.."I'm proud of every single one of our MLAs and candidates and I'm looking forward to being able to put forward a strong team that people can have competence and the main thing that that I think people will see of what it is that we're offering," Smith said.."We are offering stability, we're offering continuity, we are offering a government that is going to make sure that we are relentlessly focused on creating jobs attracting investment, and making sure like this more affordable for their families.".Smith said she "hopes" that's what people will judge her and the UCP on.."Compare that with Rachel Notley who made life more expensive. Who increased taxes and drove investment people out of the province," Smith said.."I don't think people want to move back. I think they want to move forward. I'm moving forward and I hope that Albertans join us.".Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley also spoke from Calgary on Monday.."I believe better healthcare means having hospitals that are open," Notley told a cheering crowd dressed in orange.."Hospitals that are staff where patients get beds that are in rooms, not always, hospitals that can actually conduct surgeries and deliver babies in our communities. Not 300 kilometres down the road," Notley said..Notley then took a political swing at Smith.."Now, you know my opponent in this race Daniel Smith, she kind of wears her flip-flops. Like they're going out of style," Notley said.."We all know that she has a very different idea of what the doctor-patient relationship should look like. One that she actually often refers to as the doctor payment relationships, her words, not mine.".Notley claimed Smith has put all her time and her effort in her career into tearing down public healthcare.."She's gone on the radio to promote bogus cures and fake treatments for serious illnesses. She's spoken publicly about how getting cancer is somehow the cancer patient's fault and then somehow that person should have to fundraise for it," Notley said.."She's written policy papers calling for new fees for surgeries, co-pays for hospitals using your debit card instead of your healthcare card. I say this to Daniel Smith. You don't get to spend years and years trying to tear down the public healthcare that people rely on and then expect them to forget overnight. Your record matters.".Despite what Alberta NDP attack ads and Notley are claiming, Smith has continued to set the record straight when it comes to Albertans seeing the doctor.."Albertans will never have to pay to see a family doctor, Albertans will never have to pay for hospital and surgical services," Smith told the Western Standard.."Those are essential parts of our Canada Health. In fact, we have taken off user fees under the NDP they were charging $40 per day for a mental health addiction bed and moved all of those service fees.".However, the Alberta NDP still claims that Albertans will have to pay to see the doctor under a Smith UCP government..“Danielle Smith’s agenda is literally advocating for the dismantling of public health care,” NDP Leader Rachel Notley told reporters in November 2022..“The wealthy will be able to create a healthcare fund so they can get the healthcare they need while everyone else is left to do without.”.Smith continues to reject Notley’s accusations despite her attack ads.."We've expanded the amount of publicly funded addiction treatment, we now are able to treat instead of 19,000 individuals when we first began, we're now up to being able to treat 30,000 People with a with addiction," Smith said.."We're developing recovery communities because we see the health addiction support as being an essential service when it comes to providing healthcare.".Smith said Albertans should look at the UCP's record.."We've actually removed some of the fees that the NDP had," Smith said.."The NDP’s suggestions that Albertans will have to pay user fees on doctor’s visits or other publicly funded services is not true."
