Speech from the Throne presents focus for 2014

Times Contributor

 

The Alberta throne speech opened the legislature on March 3 with Retired Colonel Donald S. Ethell, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, enthusiastically highlighting the accomplishments of current government, in spite of the many challenges faced in the past year.

“Since 2012, your government has made tremendous progress on all three fronts, despite the challenges our province faced from the worst flood in Canadian history, and the deep discount Alberta receives for its oil and gas,” said Ethell. “But neither nature’s wrath, nor economic fury stood in the way of your government’s plan to build an even better quality of life for Albertans.”

He named a three-part program as the new phase of the Build Alberta Plan and the governments focus for 2014. He saw this phase as dealing with the increased challenges of population growth, which he directly correlated to a healthy economy. 

“Today marks the beginning of the next phase of the Building Alberta Plan, focused on meeting Alberta’s enormous growth head-on, while having the courage to invest in innovation and in future generations, to set our province up for long-term success,” said Ethell.

He said government will expand the Results-Based Budgeting review process currently in use and hold spending below population and inflation growth until 2016. 

They would be using savings, namely interest generated from the Heritage Trust fund, to create endowments for innovation in agriculture, social issue research and scholarships for trade and technology systems. They will fund the building of the Lougheed Leadership Institute and create the Alberta Institute for Research and Commercialization.

Goals to support municipal governments were to complete the Municipal Government Act review, finalize the Edmonton and Calgary Charters, renew MSI and Green Trip long term funding, and continue flood mapping and community mitigation planning.

They hope to aid farmers by fighting against unfair labelling rules in the US and getting better rail services for grain shipments.

Promises under Health care included: development of aging in place programs, support for in-home care and improved seniors care, with consideration to allowing continuing care facilities to be built on provincial land. They would support the Alberta Wellness Strategy, newborn infant screening and child mental health programs. More Family Care Centres will be opened.

Education will see student-centered curriculums with a focus on numeracy and basic literacy, replacement of provincial achievement tests with student learner assessments, and a long view in planning taken for higher education investments and trade skills development. They will support distance learning opportunities. Business and non-profit partnerships will be developed to mentor young workers. They promise to continue building 50 new schools and modernizing 70 more over the next three years — keeping class sizes low with over 86,000 new spaces. A new dedicated pipeline training facility will be built, to train more heavy equipment operators, and those who work in pipeline construction and land reclamation.

On the child welfare front, they have committed to changes in the child intervention system, based on roundtable recommendations of 2013, with support extended for children in care until they reach age 24.

Justice system and policing commitments were to see more consolidated efforts like I-Trac, which brings together police, specialized court officers and counselling workers for Albertans facing domestic violence. They support immediate protection for victims and punishment for offenders in those situations.

The development of diversified domestic energy and alternative and renewable energy frameworks, leading to a market-based electricity system, will be encouraged; as well as development of a northern forestry industry and pushing through pipelines like the Keystone XL will be focused on in the future.

Ethell said the government will welcome foreign investment in 2014 and advocate for a Canada wide Free Trade zone. They support an open skies policy for airports, building on the work being done by both the Calgary and Edmonton airports. The province will encourage trade agreements like the energy agreements signed with China, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the agriculture agreement signed with States of Meghalaya and Punjab in India this January.

“What makes all of this possible, indeed what your government has deemed ‘job one,’ is an unrelenting focus on selling Alberta to the world,” said Ethell. 

He concluded that the government would always rise above the fray and work together with Albertans to build a better province, focusing on what truly matters to Albertans.