Budget offers good news for recreation, environment: MLA

New environmental initiatives and provincial parks improvements didn’t get the headlines.

But Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips says the government’s budget for 2018-19 contains plenty of good news for recreation and the environment.

The NDP government is intent on charting a route to a balanced budget, she points out.

“It’s an economic recovery that is going to last,” she predicts.

But Phillips, the cabinet minister responsible for parks as well as the environment, says the new budget projects an investment of $140 million over the next five years.

Previous governments did little or nothing to improve Alberta’s parks in recent years, she says.

More funds are also being allocated for fisheries and headwaters protection, Phillips says, and for species recovery plans.

Phillips, also responsible for energy efficiency savings, says Albertans can also expect to see more initiatives.

Meanwhile, she adds, about 65 per cent of Alberta families are now benefitting from the province’s carbon levy rebate cheques.

The budget also ensures stable funding for all the services Albertans need, Phillips adds.

“People really expect the government to have their back,” paticularly in areas of health care and education.

While meeting those needs, she says the government has been consolidating or scrapping a number of boards and commissions set up by previous governments over the years. It’s also frozen top officials’ income and it’s examining the salaries and benefits paid to some of the province’s university and school board officials.

The budget is also restraining health-care budgets, she adds. While previous governments allowed 10 or 12 per cent increases year after year, this year’s three per cent will cover inflation and the province’s population growth.

Population growth in Lethbridge, meanwhile, has put increased pressure on the city’s schools. So Maria Fitzpatrick, MLA for Lethbridge East, welcomed Friday’s announcement of a 600-student elementary school to be built south of Fairmont.

“This new elementary school is long overdue and I am very happy that finally families in this area of our city will have an elementary school in their own neighbourhood,” she says.

“It’s important our kids have a great space to learn and grow, and this new school will create a safe, caring environment for our kids to learn, and for future generations.”

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