Caroline O'Driscoll has over 20 years of advocacy experience as a teacher and lawyer. She has engaged with various levels of government and their institutions and has first-hand experience in successfully dealing with their shortcomings and systemic issues.

The Cochrane area resident wants to bring that experience and expertise to the table for the Banff-Airdrie constituency as an independent candidate. She strongly believes you don't need to be part of a party to address pressing issues in the riding.

"I think it's great for parties to have platforms, but I think there needs to be an appropriate order of priority, and the first obligation as a public servant is to be the voice of the people of the constituency you're representing. That comes first and foremost."

Her family moved to the Cochrane area in the early 90s and she's a graduate of Cochrane High, where she also taught years later before establishing her legal career.

She says she has lived here long enough to remember a time when home security systems weren't required.

"That's what's been so heartbreaking for me. I know a Cochrane of a different time, and there's a lot of local issues and concerns that are not getting the light of day. They don't need a party platform to be addressed."

"I think it's deeply concerning when we have MPs running who are looking only at one dimension of the job description. The job is not just about developing policy, creating new laws, it's about holding our government institutions to account. A classic example that I have become horrified to see is the issue of public safety."

She says it's well known within legal circles that there's a systematic issue with law enforcement in Banff-Airdrie.

"It's horrifying. I've talked to neighbours. It's just an expectation that they have to take proactive steps to have their own security because they cannot rely on local law enforcement here. We're talking vandalism, we're talking theft. On reserve, I've talked to leadership. They have massive drug issues. They've identified houses where these deals are going on, and they're not being dealt with."

She says the pandemic has helped bring attention to shocking statistics on the frequency of sexual abuse of children.

"You hear statistics out of Alberta, one in two girls, one in four boys being sexually abused, and it boggles me, but having talked to senior RCMP officers and they tell me it's OK for a father to take make pictures and videos of his daughters and sexually touched them, that's acceptable? No wonder we have massive, massive problems."

She believes Banff-Airdrie is unique and has a diverse economic base from tourism to oil and gas to commercial and agriculture. She says we also enjoy cultural diversity.

"There's an awful lot of voices that deserve to be heard, and the role of the MP is to be representative of all of them, not just one discrete pocket and not whatever is on-trend." 

O'Driscoll says it was a personal situation that made her aware of some of the risks and harms being faced by constituents. She drafted questions she planned to ask of federal candidates. When shared with others, she was encouraged to run.

What she experienced in this situation and with clients she's represented in Banff-Airdrie is how the buck is commonly passed with no action taken.

"I find that deeply concerning because it's not dealing with the issues that are being brought forward, and I think it's so incredibly important that have leaders that are not just visioning but actually taking action."

In her professional career, she has been before the National Energy Board and provincial regulators. She's found it frustrating to constantly address the inaction and accountability of government and how we're forced to react rather than build sustainable outcomes.

"I've been negotiating for different communities to get them sustainable, equitable solutions in the energy sector, and I've been trying to, for two decades now, break the assumptions and stereotypes that are often made of these communities that they're extreme in one way or another."

If elected, she wants to bring that same passion and commitment to the principles of sustainability, equity, and accountability to the House of Commons for Banff-Airdrie residents.