(File photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

"moving forward"

Budget 2022: Alberta Government unveils full financial plan

Feb 24, 2022 | 3:20 PM

Alberta’s UCP-led government tabled its 2022 budget in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, with an estimated value of $62.6 billion.

That includes a $500 million surplus for 2022/23, with slightly larger surpluses in the 23/24 and 24/25 fiscal years. For the 2021/22 fiscal year, a $3.2 billion deficit was forecast.

With a focus on ‘Moving Forward” and “Alberta’s Advantage,” the budget is an ambitious one based on a labour market the government says has recovered.

However, challenges remain, including labour shortages in key sectors, youth unemployment, barriers for under-represented groups, and increased long-term unemployment, the government points out. There is also slower population growth, and aging, which could constrain Alberta’s workforce. This means, the government says, greater reliance on interprovincial and international migration fo fulfill labour market needs.

“After many challenging years of economic and pandemic hardship, Alberta is moving forward once again. The government’s focused, responsible fiscal management and relentless pursuit of economic growth has put the province on a more sustainable fiscal trajectory,” says Travis Toews, Treasury Board President and Minister of Finance.

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“We are now able to present a balanced budget while expanding health care capacity and helping Albertans develop their skills and find jobs. Budget 2022 will help Alberta move forward into a very hopeful and prosperous future.”

There is also a $47 million capital investment, and $25 million operating investment — over three years — to support collegiate programs and charter school expansions, which the UCP says will create pathways to higher learning and in-demand careers.

HEALTH CARE

The budget includes a historic investment in building health care capacity, as evidenced by an announcement Wednesday of $1.8 billion over the next eight years to enhance Red Deer Regional Hospital.

In 2022/23, Alberta Health’s operating expense budget will grow by $600 million, for a total of $1.8 billion across the provincial system over three years.

There’s also a $750 million contingency for COVID-19-related costs, including to address the surgical backlog caused by the pandemic.

“We promised Albertans a stronger publicly funded health system, with more capacity for surgery and better access – and this budget provides the resources to deliver,” says Health Minister Jason Copping. “I’m looking forward to working with everyone in the system to recover from the pandemic and build a health system that’s better than ever.”

It’s estimated that Budget 2022 will build 1,515 new continuing care beds, with $674 million in total to support more than 700,000 seniors.

“With their taxes, Albertans pay for and rightly expect world-class heath care – and that means having a health system that can handle unexpected surges,” says Minister Toews. “Budget 2022 builds the system Albertans need by expanding capacity, adding ICU beds and addressing surgical backlogs. These are important steps to improve Albertans’ health outcomes and make our province and economy more resilient to system-wide challenges.”

Meantime, the province says funding from the federal government is not keeping up with the historic growth of health care costs. Alberta Health’s operating budget is $22 billion, with $5.35 billion coming from the feds, which is why Alberta is joining other provinces, it says, in calling for an increase to the Canada Health Transfer (CHT).

The UCP note that from 2006-2017, the CHT decreased by six per cent annually, with changes made in 2017/18 which would see the transfer grow based on nominal GDP growth. That’s resulted in increases of 3.8 per cent each year since.

Premiers across Canada are asking the federal government to fund 35 per cent of total provincial and territorial health care costs.

AGRICULTURE, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Budget 2022 also aims to move forward job growth in sectors such as hemp, agtech and value-added processing, with 2,000 new jobs by 2023/24.

Supporting that is $37 million for Results Driven Ag Research this year, plus $15 million over three years for a new rural attraction stream, and $59 million over three years to expand the veterinary school at the University of Calgary.

“Great things are happening. To date, our $1.4-billion investment targeted toward value-added processing has led to 2,128 new jobs and $886 million in new investments,” says Nate Horner, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development. “We anticipated this funding would create more than 2,000 jobs over the entire project and we are already past that initial estimate.”

In Energy, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) will receive $41 million over three years to establish new regulatory frameworks for geothermal and mineral resources. The government, meantime, is developing a new energy consumer protection program for those who use less than 2,500 gigajoules annually.

The Energy Affordability Program will begin in October and run until March 31, 2023. The province expects this will include most households, small apartment buildings, farms, and small industrial operations. A rebate will be triggered if the company’s regulated rate is about $6.50/gigajoule.

Resources and Environment Capital Plan highlights

• $750 million in agriculture and natural resources projects across the province that will help develop and protect Alberta’s distinctive resources and support environmental sustainability. This includes:
o $116 million over three years to continue expanding Alberta’s irrigation infrastructure.
o $21 million over three years for the Watercourse Crossing Programs that will focus on high-priority crossings where a number of fish species are in significant population decline.
o $272 million in funding for the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program (APIP).
o $10 million over two years for the Clean Hydrogen Centre of Excellence (CH2COE) to support hydrogen innovation and technology.
o $2 million over two years to install a pressure reaction tower (PRT) system to advance the competitiveness and innovation opportunities for companies looking to capitalize on the growth in agricultural fibres.
• $474 million towards the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir project.

VULNERABLE ALBERTANS

The provincial government will also provide $666 million in operating funds in 2022/23, and more than $2.6 billion by 2024/25, to enhance the affordability, accessibility, inclusivity and quality of licensed child-care programs.

Further, there is $118 million in capital funding, over three years, to implement the province’s 10-year strategy to improve and expand affordable housing.

The goal is to support 82,000 households in the next decade, an increase of 25,000 or about 40 per cent.

Meantime, the AISH budget will be $1.4 billion this year, an increase of $12 million from a year ago. Career and Employment Services will have a $106 million budget, up $34 million year-over-year.

$193 million will be allotted this year for Homeless and Outreach Support Services, maintaining previous levels.

Elsewhere in Budget 2022

• $22 billion to $23.2 billion annually for health services
• $8.4 billion to $8.5 billion annually for kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) education
• $5.4 billion to $5.6 billion annually for post-secondary education
• $7.8 billion to $8 billion annually for social services
• $2.6 billion by 2024-25 for the new Canada-Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Agreement (including $134 million provided in 2021-22)
• $81 million in additional funding over the next three years for the Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit
• $40 million over the next four years for the Clean Hydrogen Centre of Excellence
• $9 million in 2022-23 to address the land titles backlog

Red Deer

• Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre expansion project – $193 million over next three years
• Red Deer Justice Centre – $63 million in 2022/23
• Red Deer Regional Airport expansion – $7.5 million over three years
• Equipment for Cancer Corridor Projects — Provides equipment for the Radiation Therapy Cancer Corridor in Grande Prairie, Red Deer and Lethbridge

More information about Budget 2022 can be found HERE.

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$1.8 billion announced for Red Deer hospital expansion