Here in Alberta, we’re rollin’ in the Benjamins (Bordens?) at the moment and there’s an election coming up. Time to open up the purse strings, baby.
It’s back to work for Alberta’s elected officials as they prepare for the spring sitting of the Alberta Legislature. To kick off the session, Alberta’s finance minister, Travis Toews put on his boots and took the stage to table the 2023 budget. As expected, there’s going to be some big ticket spending.
- Funding for mental health and addiction will grow to $275 million– more than double the amount from 2019.
- $110 million dollars for tech training
- $180 million upgrading infrastructure for education facilities
- $158 million to recruit and retain health care workers
- $3b to build / expand health care facilities and reduce wait times
- $1b for seniors’ care
- $4b over four years for affordability action plan
- $950 million to support new students
- Funding for 58 new schools
Also, specifically for Red Deer:
- $155 million for recovery communities including one in our city
- $321 million for the Red Deer Hospital expansion
- $7 million for Red Deer emergency shelter