Helping farmers in a time of need
By Leela Sharon Aheer Chestermere-Strathmore MLA
Hello Chestermere- Strathmore readers.
Agriculture built Alberta and is a critical part of our economy. We are always proud to stand by our producers in good times and bad. This drought has been nothing short of devastating and we have been working on trying to understand the more pressing concerns of our producers and helping them through this difficult time. Now, we are announcing that drought-stricken Alberta livestock producers and beekeepers will soon have access to millions in financial relief and will benefit from new rangeland initiatives that will improve access to water and grazing. Under the AgriRecovery program – a joint program between Alberta’s government and the Government of Canada – $340 million will be made available to Alberta livestock producers and beekeepers to help cover the extraordinary additional costs due to the dry conditions across the province. The $340 million will be split 60-40 between the federal and provincial governments (Alberta’s contribution is $136 million). This funding will provide much-needed financial support and an immediate cash flow for our livestock producers and beekeepers to purchase feed, water and fencing. In addition, Alberta Environment and Parks have approved several temporary changes to grazing and water regulations to open new feed sources for livestock. Thank you to Alberta’s farmers and ranchers. We are honoured to provide this relief and support to help at this difficult time.
It has been amazing to see Alberta’s unemployment rate dropping. We have further to go, but jobs are coming back to Alberta in large numbers. According to Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey, in July, Alberta added 20,000 full-time jobs. This means our province’s unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Did you know that we have seen productions in Alberta spend close to a billion dollars since the introduction of the Film and Television tax credit?
Alberta is attracting major productions to the province, diversifying the economy and creating thousands of new jobs. Since the program’s launch in January 2020, it has attracted 50 productions to Alberta with total production costs of $955 million, creating 9,000 new direct and indirect jobs in the province. HBO is currently filming its new television series, The Last of Us, in Alberta. The project is the single largest television series production in Canadian history and will create thousands of jobs.
Finally, I am so proud to say that Alberta’s government announced that August will be recognized as Hindu Heritage Month in Alberta. This is an important way to show our appreciation for the Hindu community and all they do to strengthen this great province. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Hindu temples in Alberta stepped up to support their members and the wider community through neighbourhood food banks. This exemplifies the generosity of Alberta’s Hindu community.
I wish Pakistan a happy 75th anniversary of Independence on Aug. 14 and India on Aug. 15.
As always, we love to hear from you!
(Leela Sharon Aheer is the MLA Elect for Chestermere-Strathmore)