EDMONTON – On Thursday, hundreds of municipality representatives from across the province came together in Edmonton for the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association general meeting. The main question on their minds: how will municipalities be affected by the upcoming provincial budget?
A lot of councillors and mayors were hoping to have than question answered by the Premier. However, Alison Redford is reportedly ill and had to cancel all of her scheduled appointments on Wednesday.
Instead, Minister of Municipal Affairs Doug Griffiths took Redford’s place in the hot seat. He admitted that with the province facing a six billion dollar shortfall, next month’s budget will be difficult, but he assured the crowd that the days of off-loading all the pain onto towns and cities are over.
“The Premier has been very clear that we will not balance the budget on the backs of municipalities,” Griffiths said to applause.
The number one focus for municipalities is the MSI funding they receive from the province, funding that is necessary to build infrastructure.
When it comes to building Edmonton’s downtown arena, though, Griffiths re-iterated that the city shouldn’t expect extra money from the province on top of MSI funding.
“I think the arena is a great project that will help revitalize downtown. In this budget, though, it’s going to be pretty tough to come up with a hundred million dollars for a project like that when people’s priorities look directly towards schools and hospitals and the infrastructure that keeps the economy going.”
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Unfortunately no specific details were given, just that these are difficult times, but it’s a short-term situation.
Wildrose party Leader Danielle Smith, also in attendance, said her party is proposing a 10-year plan that would make sure municipalities are paid first before money is allotted for hospitals, roads, and schools. She said it’s a plan that better resonates with mayors.
“They need that kind of certainty,” said the official Opposition leader. “They need a long term plan. What they have seen over the last number of years is promises, and it doesn’t get delivered. Every time this government puts something in the budget, it seems like the municipalities have to wait on pins and needles to see if will get clawed back the next year.”
Linda Sloan, the head of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, also believes cities need more long-term sustainable funding in order to plan and build infrastructure.
“Our main point is that the short term grants are not working. They’re great, they have been appreciated, but they don’t serve us well in the long term.”
“We’ve tried to stress that municipalities have been taking less for probably the last two decades,” Sloan added. “And as a result of that we have a very large infrastructure deficit that’s only going to get worse if it’s not funded adequately.”
Liberal critic Laurie Blakeman says Griffiths’ department is failing because of unequal funding formulas and policies that penalize the two-thirds of the population who live in Calgary and Edmonton.
“Edmonton and Calgary should have much more decision-making powers. They’re carrying most of the load of what the provincial government used to provide,” said Blakeman.
Griffiths’ speech was part of an ongoing government information campaign to let Albertans know that the price spread between the North American benchmark for oil and what Alberta is getting for its oilsands product has wreaked unexpected havoc on the provincial bottom line.
Critics have countered that the Tories under Redford and under former premier Ed Stelmach have simply been bad money managers for relying too heavily on the roller-coaster prices of oil to pay for day-to-day operations.
Their case got a boost from an unexpected quarter Thursday. Former Alberta Tory finance minister Ted Morton, in a Calgary newspaper editorial, said Redford’s plan to take on debt while continuing to pump the ground dry of oil is a recipe for disaster.
“No family or business can simultaneously sell assets and borrow at the same time, at least not for long,” wrote Morton.
With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News and The Canadian Press
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