Derek Fildebrandt

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Derek Fildebrandt
Headshot of Derek Fildebrandt, MLA
MLA for Strathmore-Brooks
Assumed office
2015
Preceded by Jason Hale
Chairman, Alberta Public Accounts Committee
Assumed office
2015
Personal details
Born (1985-10-18) October 18, 1985 (age 38)
Ottawa, Ontario
Political party Wildrose Party (suspended)
Residence Carseland, Alberta
Occupation fiscal policy analyst, advocacy
Portfolio Shadow Finance Minister
Religion Christian

Derek Alexander Gerhard Fildebrandt (born October 18, 1985) is the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Strathmore-Brooks and was the Wildrose Party Shadow Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly.[1] He was the Alberta Director and National Research Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation from 2009 to 2014,[2][3] and is considered a staunch fiscal conservative.[4]

As of May 27, 2016 Fildebrandt was suspended from the Wildrose Caucus by leader Brian Jean after an allegedly homophobic or transphobic comment was made social media.[5] Fildebrandt has denied this, issuing a statement that he had misread the original comment and did not agree with those remarks.[citation needed]

Fildebrandt has lived in Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia and Iowa.[6]

Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF)

National Research Director

In 2009, Fildebrandt was hired as the National Research Director (NRD) of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. As NRD, Fildebrandt published studies on public sector and politician pension reform,[7] federal debt and expenditure reduction programs, and federal balanced budget plans.

Fildebrandt's main accomplishment as NRD was a campaign to reform MP and Senator pensions that was ultimately successful.[8]

Alberta Director

In 2012, Fildebrandt was promoted to the post of Alberta Director.[9] In that role, Fildebrandt became a well known and vocal critic of former Alberta Premier Alison Redford's fiscal policies[10] and corruption.[11]

Fildebrandt regularly used Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation to obtain and release documents that were often damaging to the PC government.[12] On several occasions, Fildebrandt released sole-sourced contracts from the Progressive Conservative government to businesses closely related to the party as part of a campaign to reform public-sector procurement and accountability legislation.[13]

In December 2012, Fildebrandt released the expense claims of a majority of cabinet ministers,[14] resulting in the firing of one minister and an overhaul of expense policies. Fildebrandt helped the PC government draft new expense disclosure policies for MLAs and public sector employees, dubbing the new process the "gold-standard" for other jurisdictions to follow.[15]

Fildebrandt campaigned for a so-called 'sunshine list' that would disclose all government employee salaries, severance payments and pension eligibilities. Controversy ensued in October 2013 when the Redford government refused to disclose to the severance payment of $130,000 made to her former Chief of Staff, Stephen Carter in an FOI request made by Fildebrandt.[16] The controversy was used by the CTF to successfully campaign for a government sunshine list months later.[17]

In February 2014, Fildebrandt released the CTF's balanced budget plan calling for $2.4 billion in spending cuts to business subsidies and the bureaucracy. In May 2014 he spoke out about buyout payments to political appointees.[18]

Fildebrandt was a conservative critic of former PC Premier Jim Prentice, calling him a “tax and spend liberal.”[19]

During the Alberta PC leadership race, Fildebrandt filed Freedom of Information requests for Jim Prentice's federal expense records, releasing them in September 2014. This came after controversy about alleged irregularities in the destruction of the records.[20]

Fildebrandt was credited by the Calgary Sun with playing a significant role in the downfall of former Alberta Premier, Alison Redford and former Alberta Finance Minister, Doug Horner.[21]

Fildebrandt's term as Alberta Director of the CTF ended in November 2014.[21][22]

Alberta politics

Several political blogs in Alberta reported that former Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith was aggressively working to recruit Fildebrandt to run under the Wildrose banner in the expected 2015 General Election.[23][24]

Following the defection of Danielle Smith to the Progressive Conservatives, Fildebrandt was named by the Calgary Sun as a potential candidate for the Wildrose Party leadership.[25] Fildebrandt considered seeking the leadership,[26] but opted instead to support Brian Jean.

2015 Election

On January 26, 2015, Fildebrandt announced that he would seek the Wildrose nomination in Strathmore-Brooks.[27] He was acclaimed as the candidate on February 6, 2015.

During the 2015 General Election, Fildebrandt played a prominent role in the Wildrose campaign. In response to PC challenges to the Wildrose’s budget plan, Fildebrandt challenged Finance Minister Robin Campbell to a debate, which Campbell refused.[28]

On May 5, 2015, Fildebrandt was elected as the MLA for Strathmore-Brooks by a huge margin over his PC opponent, one of the largest margins for any opposition MLA in the province.[29]

MLA

On May 11, 2015 Fildebrandt was appointed Shadow Finance Minister in the Wildrose Official Opposition Cabinet.

As the MLA for Strathmore-Brooks, Fildebrandt has advocated for healthcare and seniors care infrastructure in his constituency, successfully securing an upgrade to the Strathmore Emergency Room and assisting in the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative (ASLI) Grant for the Bassano Seniors Care Project. [30][31]

Fildebrandt is one of the most outspoken opposition MLAs, regularly attacking the NDP for tax increases, deficit spending[32] and its relationship with public sector unions.[33]

Fildebrandt was suspended from the Wildrose caucus on May 27, 2016 by leader Brian Jean after responding to a comment from a constituent on his public Facebook page that appear to make transphobic remarks about Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. Fildebrandt said that he receives over 800 Facebook comments a day and personally responds to them, and did not fully read the constituent's remarks before responding "Proud to have constituents like you."[34] Earlier that day, he was criticized for questioning the Ontario Liberal Government while Premier Wynne was in the gallery during oral question period. Wildrose offered an apology acknowledging that the line of questioning was inappropriate.[35] The questions had been written and approved by the Leader's Office for Fildebrandt in advance and the party initially supported him.[36]

Electoral history

2015 general election

Alberta general election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes %
Wildrose Derek Fildebrandt 8,657 52.6%
Progressive Conservative Molly Douglass 4,449 27.0%
New Democratic Lynn MacWilliam 2,463 15.0%
Green Mike Worthington 321 1.9%
Alberta Party Einar Davison 307 1.9%
Liberal Ali Abdulbaki 200 1.2%
Alberta First Glen Dundas 72 0.4%

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ http://medicinehatnews.com/alberta-election/meet-the-candidates/2015/04/07/derek-fildebrandt-wildrose-strathmore-brooks/
  3. ↑ "From left, Derek Fildebrandt of Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Rob Anderson, Wildrose MLA, and Kent Hehr, Liberal MLA, sign pledges to scrap the government’s opaque budget reporting model, in front of the CTF’s debt clock in Calgary.". Stuart Gradon, Calgary Herald July 13, 2014
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Derek-Fildebrandt/1170490220
  7. ↑ "Ex-MPs have hands out to collect fat pensions". By Daniel Proussalidis, Toronto Sun.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "Calgary ‘overstepped’ its role when it spent $21,000 studying prostitution laws abroad, taxpayer federation says". National Post.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ "Canadian Taxpayers Federation probes pricey payouts". By Catherine Griwkowsky, Edmonton Sun
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ "Three thousand pages of Jim Prentice’s expense records released after earlier reports they were destroyed". National Post.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Patrone, Marc. "Derek Fildebrandt takes his leave from Canadian Taxpayers Federation with pride, few regrets". Sun News.
  22. ↑ "CTF Alberta director calls it quits". News Talk 770 (CHQR) November 07, 2014
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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