Spring Time is Construction Time and Budget Time

I like spring; I always have and always will. It is that time of year when we round the corner out of the darkness and cold into light and hope. Easter is the most holy time of year for most of us. The Easter bunny, little kids on egg and chocolate hunts, is the time of year when the garden seeds are lined up and that old “Honey Do List” that’s been collecting dust gets dug out for all to see. It’s the time of year to get the equipment serviced and ready. Construction projects are funded and discussed, contracts are out for proposal, and it’s time to plan to turn dirt and burn diesel as soon as the frost is out of the ground. I love this time of year.

Navigating Budget Challenges: A Commitment to Fiscal Responsibility Amid Oil Price Deficits

We just made it through the heavy lifting part of the province’s budget as well, meeting after meeting where all parties get to grill the ministers on their proposed budget for the year. Unfortunately, this year’s budget is a deficit due to the price of oil, and we had to carry some contingency based on potential trade tariffs.

In short, it looks like we are going to need to spend more than we are bringing in, and we had to set some aside in case things go sideways with our largest trading partner. We have managed to balance the budget for the last few years in a row, and it’s a real gut check to deal with this one, but we also passed a law a few years back that forces governments to get back to balance, and that is what we will work to do.

I was asked recently about what we got out of the budget, and I usually go back to make sure we have infrastructure funding for transportation, money for schools, money for health care, and money to take care of folks who need it and fall on hard times. We also need to make sure we are allocating time and effort to get things back to being affordable.

2025 Alberta Budget – Roads Construction & Upgrades

So, to bring it back to the local level, the work on Highway 43, 44, 42, 37, 22, 16, Nikoodi Road, and the interface of 16A and Range Road 20 are all still a go. Maintenance will still continue as the crews chase the potholes, cracks, and intersection improvements.

Highway 22 near the Lazy S Ranch will soon receive the repairs it so desperately needs as soon as the frost comes out.

Nikoodi Road will be underway for planning and consultation. The great news is that we will utilize this section of road for a test section of closed-form geocell, which will give us a very solid road and manage the localized soil conditions while proving that it can be used elsewhere more cost-effectively to reduce aggregate volumes. That means the budget will go further, and more roads will be built faster.

Highway 60 overpass and road improvements will be going to contract. Design is nearing completion, the last settlements with landowners seem to be coming to a close, and utility relocation discussions are well advanced. Long and short, we have never been closer. The budget is there, and it can soon become a reality, mitigating safety and transportation concerns in the area.

Healthcare – New or De-bottlenecking?

Healthcare, well, this one is another hot topic; some folks figure if you just keep doing the same thing, throw more cash at it and put up more buildings, you will get different results. Einstein, by all accounts a real smart fella, once said that doing the exact same thing repetitively and expecting results was insanity. I’m inclined to agree, so what are we up to then?

De-bottlenecking, rather than just throwing up new multi-billion-dollar buildings, looks at how many beds are in the overall inventory and determines how we can get folks moving again through the system. Strategically funding construction for new beds where needed, point in case for the Stollery Hospital. Because we are matching funding for 200 additional beds, it will free up 2 to 4 times more capacity elsewhere. 

With the restructuring of the AHS organization, which in cross-jurisdictional analysis, says we are bloated worse than a heifer cut loose in a heavy crop of alfalfa.

Instead of letting the gas out of the system, like you would with the proverbial heifer, we are instead breaking it up into bite-sized manageable groups with a focus under a few different ministries. In addition, carving back a ton of scope creep, so that the AHS group can focus on what they are good at. 

Health “Corridors” will address how folks live, changing the arbitrary boundaries that have crept up over the years, allowing access and funding to be directed where people need it most. The big one that just came out is that the funding will follow the patient; this model has been used for decades in Australia and Europe. What it allows is that there is a choice in where the surgery can take place, based on what the best and fastest service that can be provided to the patient! When Australia implemented this, wait times went down by 53 % in the first year!

Last, but not in the least

There are a number of other items that the budget addresses; it’s not my favorite one by a country mile, but it does address many of the items that matter to us right now, in our area and our province.

We have a few uncertainties out of our control, but we are considering mitigating that risk and have allocated contingency. We are actively working on the things we can, making the changes where needed, putting families, parents, and kids first. We are dealing directly with folks across the border, and because of that, so far, we’ve managed to mitigate hundreds of millions of dollars in tariffs.

Common sense isn’t dead; it’s been on life support for a while, and we are nursing it back to life, putting policy in place to ensure it makes a full recovery here in the province of the strong and free. Voters made it loud and clear to me, it’s what matters to you.

Stay strong, Stay Free, Stay Safe. And I’ll continue to care about “what matters to you”!

Sincerely,

Shane Getson

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