Red Deerians shared concerns about provincial funding cuts for education and health care at a public forum.
A few dozen people gathered for the budget town hall, hosted by the NDP official opposition, at the Red Deer Public Library’s downtown branch Thursday evening. The event was held so the NDP can gather input for an alternative to the UCP government’s planned fall budget.
“For the past four years we had funding certainty in our schools, we were able to accommodate for student growth. This is a very different year,” said Stephen Merredew, local Alberta Teachers’ Association president for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.
“We know our enrolment is growing and we know that we’re having a harder and harder time filling positions for teachers.”
Thursday’s Red Deer town hall is the third in a series of forums the NDP will holding across the province.
David Eggen, official opposition critic for advanced education, said the UCP has “failed to have public consultations” for their budget.
“We know Albertans are very concerned about cuts to public services that they need for themselves and their families so we’re providing an opportunity for people to voice what’s important to them … for the budget coming up in the fall,” Eggen said.
Merredew said RDCRS spends about $15 million annually on special needs programming.
“Annually they have to shift money around in order to accommodate for that – that’s all up in the air this year,” he said, adding school boards across the province are preparing for cuts.
The majority of Alberta teachers have not received a raise in the past six or seven years, Merredew added.
“If you want to attract high-quality professionals in teaching, they need to be well-compensated,” he said.
Lauren Lagoutte, a Red Deer abortion doula, said she is concerned by the lack of support for health care in central Alberta.
“Our hospital has gained a cancer centre and not much else. The cancer centre is great, but we’re still waiting abnormally long times for surgeries or emergent care. We’re not keeping up with our population in this area,” she said.
Josh McLean, of Red Deer, said “it’s important to look at increasing revenue and not just cutting spending.”
“Jason Kenney likes to talk about how we spend more per capita than Ontario, Quebec, B.C., but if you look at what those provinces tax, it’s way higher than Alberta,” he said.
“I know a sales tax is about as popular as a fart in an elevator in Alberta. But I think if we do it properly, maybe by reducing income tax or balancing it somehow, to increase revenue overall, that’s a very important part of this, not just figuring out how to cut spending.”
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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