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Thank you, Al [Kemmere, President, AAMDC], and good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
While I have spoken with many of you individually over the past few months, I have not addressed your group as a whole since November.
Given the crucial role that municipalities play in the everyday lives of Albertans, it is important that we maintain open channels of communication.
So I welcome the opportunity to speak with you once again this morning. We have a lot to catch up on including how significant the financial situation of the province has become in just a few months.
I know that this is an issue that you are all well aware of – and that many of you are starting to feel in your communities.
And I know that you are anxious to hear how our Province will deal with the greatest fiscal challenge we have faced in a generation.
We all know that Albertans have worked with uncertainty before – and we have always faced challenges – boldly and confidently, with an honest assessment of the problem…and a clear plan of action to solve it.
And the Government will seek to keep pace with the optimistic and resilient nature of Albertans as we move forward.
That is where I want to focus my comments to you this morning: on the positive actions we will take and how we are going to make a difference – together.
We are at a crossroads in this province – and municipalities will be key drivers on the road we ultimately travel together.
And it will finally be a new path – not the same old pattern of following boom and bust cycles as we wait for resource royalties to pay for essential services.
Albertans have told us overwhelmingly that it is time to learn from the past and chart a new path forward.
One that not only provides the front-line services and structures that are essential to a growing province today, but also recognizes that the choices we make now will be felt for generations to come.
This is a path we will travel together.
This has been a hard budget process – because there are no easy answers.
Some people would have us slash and burn our way to prosperity by cutting spending drastically across the board.
But that would hurt all of us and certainly the most vulnerable people in our province. It would also likely tip us into a recession and make a bad situation worse.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who think we do not need to do anything at all. But that approach will not work either.
In the coming fiscal year, we are looking at a fiscal deficit in excess of $7 billion, with $6 billion the next year and $5 billion the next.
We could use every cent we have ever saved to cover those shortfalls and within a couple of years, our savings would be gone, and our deficits would remain.
We will only sustain the programs and services that Albertans value if we can find a reasonable, balanced path forward.
We must ensure the greatest possible efficiency in spending across all public services – while balancing with a fair sharing of costs.
Our approach will be balanced.
We are going to be smart and strategic.
We are going to be fair.
You will see for yourselves when the budget is released that we are being thoughtful about the decisions we are making.
Toward that end – and of particular interest to the people in this room – is the assurance that we won’t stop building the infrastructure this province needs.
The last time government cut costs to fight a deficit, it stopped investing in infrastructure and we fell behind. When growth returned, we never did get caught up.
We wound up trying to build at the same time the economy was heating up, and driving up the cost of building materials and labour costs.
The fact is – we are still catching up this very day.
Even with the downturn in the oil patch, we are still expecting 60,000 new Albertans to move to Alberta this year. This is equal to a city the size of Grande Prairie. And as you all know well, they do not bring their bridges and roads and schools and hospitals with them.
For example, for every 100,000 people who move here, 15,000 school-age children arrive with them, creating a need for about 28 new schools every year.
We must continue to build. And we are building.
Just last week, we released a status report that demonstrates progress on our plan to create more than 78,000 new student spaces, with more than 230 school projects underway or recently completed.
Our government remains committed to providing the front-line services that Albertans need.
We also remain committed to supporting infrastructure that promotes economic development – that supports the province’s economy – and that keeps Albertans working.
When we asked Albertans to share their input while Budget 2015 was being developed, many of you told us quite clearly that you are concerned about the future of the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) and your ability to meet the infrastructure requirements in your municipalities.
That is why we advanced $400 million from this year’s budget to ensure that municipalities have the capacity to meet their current infrastructure project commitments.
That injection of cash brings this year’s MSI funding to $1.6 billion – and will ensure that municipalities can continue to invest in their communities through the tough budget cycles ahead.
This is the kind of responsible, balanced approach you will be able to expect in the upcoming budget.
Now, I know MSI is not the only source of funding that municipalities rely on.
And that municipalities share our struggle to manage cost pressures – from growth pressures, to property assessment and taxation, to the ability to deliver the services that residents in your communities want and need.
You are the level of government closest to Albertans.
And Albertans’ connection to their municipalities is a close one and a very special one.
The programs and services you deliver directly impact Albertans’ lives.
We need to find better ways to address the pressures you face. We need affordable funding arrangements with municipalities that recognize your needs and that are fair to taxpayers at the same time.
Those are just some of the reasons why Municipal Affairs Minister Diana McQueen and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January, with your president, Al Kemmere, and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s President, Helen Rice.
That MOU will see a revised Municipal Government Act in place by the end of next year.
Toward that end, on Monday, Minister McQueen announced proposed changes to the Act that will:
- enhance municipal accountability and transparency,
- enable more efficient municipal operations,
- enhance municipal viability, and
- strengthen municipal and inter-municipal planning.
The bottom line is that we must work together to ensure support will be there for Albertans when they need it – whether that support is provided by a municipality or another one of our partners on the road ahead.
This kind of team approach must extend to the way we approach economic development in our province.
Everyone on the team has something to contribute. Every industry adds to our economic success.
Yes, energy production is of fundamental importance in the province, but it is not alone.
While oil prices may be low at the moment, other sectors are doing well, such as agriculture, forestry and tourism.
We need to focus on these strengths and others that are thriving in Alberta – strengths like energy technology and petrochemicals – to create a more balanced economy for our children and our grandchildren.
And I want to make one thing clear. I do not assume for one moment that the work to strengthen these sectors will take place in the boardrooms of Edmonton and Calgary.
That is not the way this province was built.
As I said, you are the level of government closest to Albertans. And you are an essential part of the economic development team.
That is why all of the municipalities I this room are key stakeholders in the Rural Economic Development Action Plan that was developed by Minister Olson.
As the action plan outlines, we must work together – as communities, regions, non-profit organizations and all sectors of government – to share our knowledge with one another, and to attract industry with one another, so we can all walk down the same economic pathway.
Working together, we can:
- increase the economic development capacity of rural Alberta,
- improve our existing programs so they better serve rural Albertans,
- and create new opportunities for rural Albertans to succeed in our strengths – from agriculture, forestry and tourism, to energy technology and petrochemicals.
The provincial government has an important role to play in securing Alberta’s future prosperity, but we cannot do it alone.
It will require leadership from all sectors of Alberta society and collaboration at the local, provincial, national and global levels.
Part of ensuring successful rural economic development is ensuring that Albertans in rural and remote communities have access to health services that they can depend on.
That is one of the reasons why Minister Mandel and I asked Dr. Richard Starke, MLA for Vermilion-Lloydminster, to lead a rural health services review.
We wanted to know what rural health services we currently have, so we could ensure resources are being used to support front-line services in the best way possible.
The committee’s job was not to consider closing rural hospitals. Far from it.
Their job was to find ways to help rural hospitals be more responsive to the health services needs of rural and remote communities.
That is why the membership of Dr. Starke’s committee included doctors, nurses and community representatives – all people with extensive rural health care experience.
They approached their task with the understanding that what may work in urban areas, does not necessarily work in rural Alberta.
And that understanding was confirmed by Albertans themselves throughout the course of the review.
They clearly told us that health services need to be provided differently in rural Alberta than in urban areas – but that they could be no less efficient and effective.
We cannot have two classes of citizens.
Since September, Dr. Starke and his committee have traveled across Alberta, listening to what rural Albertans thought about health services – how it is working and not working in their communities.
From villages to towns to small cities, the committee heard first-hand what it is like to access and deliver health services in rural areas.
The process gave rural Albertans a voice to explain the challenges they face in their own words. The committee heard people offer solutions – and offer to be part of solutions. That is part of the ethic of what it is to be an Albertan.
Consulting with more than 100 communities and provincial health organizations gave the review the broad perspective – and better understanding of rural health service delivery – that we were looking for.
As you know, Dr. Starke and his committee have reported back.
I want to share a few of their findings this morning.
It will not come as a surprise to you that rural Albertans face challenges in accessing health care services.
Geography, isolation, transportation and recruitment difficulties all impact their ability to receive the health services they need.
In community after community, citizens expressed frustration over the loss of services – and the fact that they do not control the delivery of health services in their own communities.
They called for more local input into planning for local health services and decision-making related to local health services.
They also said – very emphatically – that emergency medical services are not meeting the needs of rural Alberta.
In other words…communities need to have more control over how public health services are delivered.
I know we can all empathize with such feelings.
Albertans hold public health care nearly and dearly to our hearts.
In addition to the challenges, the committee also heard stories of pride in local facilities, in local doctors and nurses, and in the services they offer.
They heard stories of partnership, of small communities working together, sharing resources and offering more to attract health professionals.
All of this information has helped draw a map of how we can work together to deliver the best possible health services we can for Albertans in smaller communities.
In all, Minister Mandel and I received 56 recommendations from Dr. Starke and his committee – recommendations for short- and long-term actions on a variety of fronts.
These include:
- supporting team-based primary health care services,
- increasing use of technology – like TeleNet/Telehealth – to increase access to services, and
- more local input.
That last point – more local input – brings us to the very exciting news we heard this morning, that Alberta Health Services will create new operational districts to provide locally directed health care services across rural Alberta.
Rather than the five zones that currently exist, these new operational districts will be better equipped to respond to the need for local health services.
This kind of outcome – a better response to local health service needs – is a key element of the mandate letter our government provided Minister Mandel when he stepped in to take on the challenges of serving as Alberta’s Health Minister.
The new operational districts will provide what rural Albertans have called for – greater local input into planning and more local decision making about the delivery of health services.
These operational districts will still be part of AHS.
They will still fall under the jurisdiction of the CEO and Board of AHS – and will be allocated a budget by AHS to deliver local health services.
AHS is on track to implement these new operational districts on July 1.
In the meantime, we will continue to consult with front-line staff on how best to implement the changes in their areas.
Their purpose is to address the call for greater local input in providing health services in rural and remote communities.
And the creation of these new operational districts is only the first shift toward improving the delivery of health services in rural Alberta.
As I mentioned, the committee also heard concern about rural emergency medical services in communities right across the province.
I know that this is something you are particularly aware of.
I want you to know that AHS is addressing these concerns as well to implement new deployment models that will see rural ambulances used in a much more targeted and effective manner.
That – along with the recent announcement that the scope of practice for paramedics will be amended – will certainly see improved emergency medical services in rural communities.
Today’s announcements are just the beginning.
Over the coming weeks and months, we will take further steps to respond to the review committee’s recommendations.
In the meantime, I want to wholeheartedly and personally thank Minister Mandel, Dr. Starke, his committee and all of the rural Albertans who contributed to the creation of this report.
It is a key milestone on our path to providing better health services in rural and remote Alberta.
These improvements to rural health service delivery are part of a larger map
– a course for the future – that Albertans have helped draw, through consultations on everything from the budget to the review of the Municipal Government Act, and from the Rural Economic Development Action Plan to the Rural Health Services Review.
That map – our government’s 10-year plan for Alberta – will be released next week, along with the provincial budget.
It will put Alberta on a sound fiscal foundation, so that we can get off the energy roller coaster once and for all, and make some long-term investments in Alberta’s future.
We will take action in a way that protects jobs, vital front-line services and the Alberta advantage.
We will act prudently and decisively, but with compassion for those whom we must protect.
We will be sensitive to the impacts of the decisions we make on an already vulnerable economy.
We will deal honestly and fairly with shared and fundamental challenges.
We are resolved – and we will all do our parts.
Municipalities, and the organizations that represent them, like AAMDC, will be our vital partners in the days ahead.
And I want to take a moment to thank all your members for working with our government, and for opening your doors to us – not only at this conference but always.
We have done some pretty incredible things together
.
And we have much to do in the future.
Alberta is going to be just fine.
Together, we will strengthen the foundation of this province and build an even brighter future for our children and grandchildren – with the same determination, confidence and vision that those who came before us have always shown.
And we will emerge even stronger on the other side.
Thank you.