Budget created to sway voters before election

By Lethbridge Herald on March 25, 2023.

AT THE LEGISLATURE
Shannon Phillips – NDP MLA for Lethbridge West

As your NDP MLA, I am deeply concerned about the first budget presented by the UCP and Danielle Smith. 

This budget is a sham, created to sway voters ahead of the election and saddle Albertans with the cost after they’ve cast their votes. The UCP’s costly plans, including the $20,000,000,000 R-Star royalty giveaway, the Alberta Provincial Police Force, and Alberta Pension Plan, are all hidden.

Many of the UCP’s affordability programs, including affordability cheques (that exclude hundreds of thousands of Albertans), electricity rebates, and fuel tax relief, will end soon after the spring election. This budget is a plan for the “Most Expensive Summer Ever” for Alberta families. You deserve better.

Budget 2023 includes forecasts for GDP and employment growth that are up to twice as high as private sector forecasts. Funding for critical services remains below where it should be, with healthcare funding short $1.4 billion and education funding short $1.6 billion after adjusting for population growth and inflation. 

That means that our healthcare and our children’s education are being cut. 

Healthcare is one of the issues I hear about most from constituents. Tens of thousands of folks in Lethbridge still don’t have a family doctor. People just aren’t getting the care they need. On top of this, the UCP is cutting $100 million from drug benefits, putting necessary healthcare out of reach for many Albertans.

Education continues to be underfunded, with Alberta maintaining the lowest funding-per-student in Canada. 

The UCP’s new curriculum is a farce. The province is now 3,600 teachers short of what is needed, leaving thousands of children without the support they require.This budget has no plan for economic diversification and does not address the need to attract investment and talent to our province. Alberta needs a resilient economy with good-paying jobs in oil and gas, renewable energy, agriculture, and new technology. Our Competitiveness, Jobs, and Investment Strategy is designed to attract billions of dollars in new investment and create tens of thousands of new industrial, private sector jobs. 

Finally, Albertan’s retirements are at risk. The UCP are currently hiding a report about creating an Alberta pensions plan. 

They know that no one besides their wealthy donors want this. They’re worried that it will hurt them in the election. But they still plan to go ahead with it… after they’ve bought your vote. Despite these challenges, Albertans do not have to accept this budget. In two months, you will have a choice, and you can choose better. 

The Alberta NDP will support families by consistently funding healthcare and education every year, not just by reversing a few cuts in the weeks leading up to an election. Our Family Health Teams plan will connect an additional one million Albertans with access to a family doctor and quality family healthcare. And we will never make you pay to take your kids to the doctor. We will work to make sure you can make ends meet, that you can provide for your families, and that you can even put some away for a rainy day. We believe you deserve to retire with dignity, and will never mess with your pension. 

We have real plans based on evidence, research, and common sense. With the Alberta NDP, Albertans have a real choice for a brighter future.As always, you can find us at 403-329-4644 or through email at lethbridge.west@assembly.ab.ca. Please feel free to contact us about these or any other concerns you have.