Improving lives for Alberta families was the strong theme in the throne speech when the provincial government kicked off its spring session on Thursday.
St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud said the throne speech, delivered by Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell, foreshadows what the provincial budget might hold.
The first piece of legislation put forward in the spring session delivered on the pledge to Alberta families and proposed reducing school fees by 25 per cent. The change is to take effect before the 2017-2018 school year.
“I know that times are really tough right now and it is important to focus on families and keeping dollars in their pockets,” Renaud said.
Along with families, the economy and jobs received a lot of attention. The economy was mentioned 30 times, while jobs clocked in at 28 mentions in the throne speech.
The government also promised to seek “intervenor status on any legal challenges to the Trans Mountain Pipeline” and promised to continue to push for the construction of Energy East to New Brunswick. The government sees the pipeline as a way to break the oil land-lock and expand exports beyond the United States.
Economic diversity in sectors outside of the oil and gas sector was a focus for the government. Mitchell said in the speech that the government would help continue to grow the agrifood business and help to foster overall entrepreneurship across the province.
The speech showed the government wants to introduce a consumer bill of rights and work with First Nation communities to ensure access to clean drinking water.
A panel currently investigating the deaths of children in care is expected to see results and produce legislation during the spring session. The speech called for “timelier, more accessible services” for Albertans living with disabilities.
The government also plans to build more long-term care and dementia spaces across the province.
Although the budget has not been presented yet, Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken is worried about who will pay for all the services from the new legislation.
“I find it a little bit frustrating that the government says they are going to take care of everything for us but they have overspending and bloated spending,” van Dijken said. “They are not curbing spending right now in a time when revenues have plummeted.”
Van Dijken said the throne speech showed no initiative that the government plans to curb any of their spending and he thinks it signals uncertainty to the investment community.
“I hope we are not scaring away investment again,” van Dijken said.
The throne speech does not focus on specifics and only paints a broad picture of what to expect in the next session. More details will be presented in the budget, which is slated for release on March 16.
The government plans to table at least 15 bills during the spring session.
