Infrastructure
Central Alberta’s infrastructure has not kept pace with its rapidly growing population, from roads to schools to recreational facilities. What commitment would you make to the City of Red Deer and other Central Alberta municipalities, area schools and Red Deer College to create the necessary infrastructure to support this growth?
As premier, I will devolve more power, including revenue-generating capabilities, to municipalities as part of my plan to enhance local decision-making. Municipal authorities understand what their citizens need better than anyone in the provincial government. I want to give municipalities the freedom to act on this knowledge and the resources to meet those needs. With this goal in mind, I will also revamp the Municipal Sustainability Initiative to make it simpler and give municipal authorities greater discretion in using the money they receive from the program.
As for Red Deer’s educational institutions, I will put the entire provincial education system, both K-12 and post-secondary, on a three-year budget cycle. Red Deer’s school boards will be able to depend on predictable funding for the capital investments they require to grow with the population.
Housing
The number of extended care beds for senior citizens in Central Alberta has not kept pace with the demand. What will you do to ensure the capital funding and operating funds are there to create and sustain the necessary beds in this region? How would you ensure they remain affordable to senior citizens?
I will ease the continuing care regulatory framework and remove the cap on housing costs so that elder care facilities can expand and offer enough beds in an economically sustainable way. I will institute a quota system to guarantee access for low- and middle-income seniors. No one will be left out because of financial difficulties. I want facility operators to have the freedom to offer a wide variety of living arrangements so that married couples are no longer forced to split up and accommodations are tailored to meet seniors’ income, lifestyle, health and family structure needs.
Education
Red Deer is the third largest city in Alberta but its young people cannot get degrees directly from their home college. When and how would you give degree granting status to Red Deer College?
I am the MLA for Alberta’s newest university, Mount Royal. I strongly supported the government’s decision to upgrade its status and as premier will work to give Red Deer College degree-granting status, too.
Transportation
Red Deer is at the centre of a booming economic corridor, yet we have no scheduled passenger service to link citizens and businesses with services and markets in larger centres. What would you to do support the infrastructure for high speed rail service with a stop in Red Deer? What would you do to support scheduled passenger air service to the region? When would you commit to having high speed passenger service and/or air service in place to link Red Deer with Edmonton and Calgary?
Building a high-speed rail link between Calgary and Edmonton, with a stop in Red Deer, is one of my long-term goals; it’s a necessary step toward building the world-class transportation infrastructure Alberta needs to remain competitive. My government will split the first $10 billion in royalty revenue between public services, the Sustainability Fund and the Heritage Fund. Revenues beyond this will go to infrastructure projects like high-speed rail. With healthy growth in the energy sector, there will be plenty of revenue to devote to this purpose.
Funding
Red Deer’s per capita funding from provincial sources lags behind other major centres in the province. What would you do to create a more equitable funding model?
Red Deer is a critical part of Alberta’s future and, after careful assessment, I mean to give it the enhanced powers and resources it requires to remain a vibrant community with strong public services. Aside from the straightforward devolution of power I mentioned earlier, I would like to increase the resources available to Red Deer by providing it with a city charter. This charter will define your city’s new powers, provide it with more financial flexibility and allow it increased discretion in spending revenues.