By Sheldon Spackman

Local Advocacy

LaGrange hopeful hospital expansion will happen

Sep 6, 2019 | 1:48 PM

Alberta’s Minister of Education says both she and Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan continue strong advocacy efforts for the expansion of Red Deer Regional Hospital.

Adriana LaGrange says Minister of Health Tyler Shandro is very much aware of the need.

“We continue to advocate for the cardiac catheterization as well, we realize how important it is,” LaGrange said Thursday.

“The people of Red Deer have spoken very, very loudly. We’ve been able to make the case to Minister Shandro of the disparity in funding from other provincial areas of the province, how we’ve as a city have received less per capita over the last decade, so we have shared that information with him and we’re hoping for some very positive results.”

LaGrange says the newly released MacKinnon Report on the province’s finances and finding ways to eliminate waste, duplication and non-essential spending contains recommendations they are still looking into.

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The report says Alberta has a spending problem, particularly when it comes to healthcare, education and advanced education.

LaGrange says it’s hard to say at this time, however, what impact the report’s results may have on education spending moving forward.

“My focus will always be on improving student learning and how we can get there,” says LaGrange. “Of course sustainable, predictable funding is something that we’ve always looked at in education and so my focus will be looking through the lens of what is best for students and how we can get to sustainable, predictable funding.”

With the provincial budget anticipated later next month, LaGrange’s message to Alberta school boards is that the government remains committed to education.

“We will be doing everything in our power to provide the best possible education for each and every one of our students,” exclaims LaGrange. “That is our commitment. We are going to continue to build schools, we’re continuing to ensure that they’re the best schools that we can possibly provide, that they’re well-staffed and that we put teachers in front of students.”

Dean Pasiuk, principal at Westpark Middle School, says he’s not concerned at this point what the budget might mean for his school.

“Our (new) school is up and running,” says Pasiuk. “I do think that down the road it will be interesting to see what those cuts mean and how we can effectively implement them if they were to come. Is that going to affect the teaching and learning of our students in our classrooms?”

LaGrange says a review of the province’s curriculum remains ongoing, with a panel of over 300 teachers continuing their efforts in its development.

“Particularly K-4,” she explains. “That work will continue, we are not scrapping what has been done thus far, we are actually looking to enhance it. I’ve put together an advisory panel and those individuals will be looking to provide me with a draft of an updated Ministerial Order on student learning and I will be taking that out to the public for further consultation just to make sure we’ve gotten it just right.”

Beyond that, LaGrange says the advisory panel will advise her on what’s been done thus far and where the government can look for any gaps.

“Just kind of giving me that bird’s eye view,” says LaGrange. “Another set of lenses on the curriculum itself and I’m quite hopeful that in the very near future, we’ll be able to roll out the new curriculum.”