In her letter, the Premier outlines her expectations that Alberta continues to offer a high quality of life and has the infrastructure in place to support the services that Albertans need and asks Minister Guthrie to deliver on platform commitments, including:
- Working with the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, who is the lead, to build and operationalize 11 new recovery communities in key locations throughout the province.
- In cooperation with the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, who is the lead, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs, to contribute up to $330 million towards road and bridge construction, LRT connection, site utilities, site reclamation and other supportive infrastructure to support the Calgary arena and entertainment district project. This funding includes up to $30 million for a new 1,000-seat community arena neighbouring the main arena that will serve youth and amateur hockey.
The Premier also tasks Minister Guthrie with:
- Analyzing the current process for building schools and hospitals with a view to accelerate construction timelines and reduce cost.
- Modernizing building contracts for Alberta Infrastructure projects to reduce red tape and costs for contracted businesses.
- As lead, working with the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors and the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, to propose a formula that provides guidance on the amount of capital funding that should be budgeted each year to ensure long-term greater predictability for our industry partners while ensuring infrastructure resiliency and effective maintenance of the network. This should include assessing innovative financing and funding opportunities for infrastructure solutions, such as financing public-private partnerships and other government sources.
- Working with the Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women, who is the lead, to develop a building naming policy that celebrates and exemplifies Alberta’s culture.
- Working with the Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, to accelerate priority investments identified by Cabinet and Caucus.
- Working with Jobs, Economy and Trade, to assist in designing a ministry-specific job-attraction strategy to raise the awareness of young Albertans (aged 16 to 24) and adults changing careers of the skilled trades and professions available in the construction industry, including pathways for education, apprenticeship and training.
“Alberta’s economy is booming and we need to ensure that we have the proper infrastructure in place to meet the needs of Albertans for years to come. Throughout this mandate I look forward to working together as we continue to build the hospitals, schools and recovery centres Albertans need now and into the future.”