PEACE RIVER — Alberta Premier Alison Redford says money earmarked for infrastructure projects in northern parts of the province won’t be diverted to pay for flood expenses in the south.
Redford told reporters Friday in Peace River that any funding for flood-damaged Calgary and southern Alberta will be in addition to what has been already promised for other projects in the province.
She says projects in Peace Country need to be done to keep the economy chugging along in those areas.
Redford’s Conservative government has already announced an initial $1 billion to kick-start recovery from devastating floods that hit the province in June.
The City of Calgary has estimated it will cost more $400 million to fix its buildings and other infrastructure damaged in the flood.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada and the Alberta government say it is still too early to come up with an accurate, overall damage estimate from the floods that ravaged High River, Calgary and other communities.
“Even though we ended up with some difficult circumstances in southern Alberta earlier in the summer, we’re not going to divert infrastructure funding that’s been committed for the north to deal with that issue,” Redford said.
“We’re going to have to deal with some infrastructure build in the south, no doubt, but that will be in addition to what we’ve already put in place.”
The premier attended several events in the area, including Northern Sunrise County’s 10th anniversary, as well as the Metis Settlements’ 75th anniversary in Paddle Prairie.
“It is truly a privilege to be the premier of a province that has continually shown leadership by recognizing the unique status of Metis people,” Redford wrote on her Facebook page.
“We all should be proud of what we’ve accomplished together over the last 75 years.”