Not much budgeted for southeast Alberta

There are no new bells or whistles in the provincial budget for southeastern Alberta, but no large cuts either.

While no major infrastructure projects were announced for Medicine Hat, levels of funding in the the Municipal Sustainability Initiative program appear to remain stable. That program provides the city about $11 million a year (based on population) for local building and roads projects.

There will also be no immediate expansion or second phase of the Petrochemical Diversification program that in 2016 awarded $500 million in royalty credits to two plant expansions in central Alberta.

Local methanol producer Methanex had unsuccessfully applied, and observers had felt the program could be expanded.

The overall deficit will be $10.3 billion as Alberta continues to recover from a downturn in world energy prices, Finance Minister Joe Ceci told the legislature. That’s about $500 million less than forecast, but still a large target of criticism for opposition politicians.

A release from the Wildrose opposition called the document “a debt-fuelled disaster.”

Ceci said the budget keeps the province on a steady path to recovery.

“We will continue to bring the deficit down, to balance thoughtfully and prudently, and we will do so without sacrificing the supports and services families need," said Ceci.

It also promises a hospital in Edmonton, new schools and more money for seniors, housing and potable water projects on First Nations reserves.

The capital projects list doesn’t spell out spending on flood-mitigation projects — something the City of Medicine Hat is watching closely.

Berm funding is distributed through the Alberta Community Resiliency program, which disburses about $50 million per year, typically later in March.

This year the city plans to move ahead with connecting the in-place Lions Park Berm to Industrial Avenue. Previously announced grants already cover almost all the initial $6-million budget, but council members have said the city is still seeking reimbursement on past projects.

In terms of capital spending in the region, $4.27 million is now earmarked in 2018-19 for “East Campus” development at Medicine Hat College.

After five major school builds or modernization projects in the past three years, Medicine Hat and area was left off a list of new school construction projects.

A proposed modernization at Connaught School remained on the list of unfunded priorities — a list first published last year by the NDP outlining projects the government considers needed but not yet approved.

Also remaining on that unfunded list is a proposed reconfiguration for the Highway Nos. 1 and 3 interchange in Medicine Hat.

It was not immediately clear if there will be money for projects elsewhere along Hwy 3.