Alberta Minute: Energy Panel, Childcare Spaces, and Student Affordability Measures

Alberta Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Alberta politics.

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature remains adjourned, but will resume on February 28th. There will be a meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday at 9:00 am to discuss the Committee’s own 2022 Annual Report. The Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development will also be discussed.
  
  
• Licensed family day home agencies can now apply for funding to open up new spaces. The Space Creation Grant is part of the Alberta-Canada Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, and is expected to result in 5,500 additional day home spaces. The initiative aims to reduce licensed child care fees and make high-quality child care affordable and flexible for Alberta families, particularly in rural and remote communities.
  
  
• We are hosting a Pints & Politics event on Thursday in conjunction with our friends at Common Sense Calgary. Please join us for some casual drinks and an opportunity for everyone to get together with like-minded Albertans to chat about politics. There's a lot going on, so there will be plenty of conversation topics! The event will be held at Jamesons Pub from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. If you don’t live near Calgary, don’t worry - there will be events near you coming soon. Please RSVP here.

Last Week In Alberta:

• The Province announced measures to provide financial relief to post-secondary students, including a 2% annual cap on tuition hikes, reduced interest rates on student loans, and a longer interest-free grace period. The repayment assistance plan income threshold has also been increased from $25,000 to $40,000, and the monthly Alberta student grant will be raised to $475.
  
  
• To address healthcare staffing shortages in Alberta, the Province has unveiled a new Health Workforce Strategy. The plan includes a $90 million funding commitment for programs that attract and retain rural physicians, as well as $7 million to recruit nurses trained abroad. Healthcare workers who practice in rural areas will also be given incentives to encourage them to remain in small communities.
  
  
• An expert panel was convened to map out Alberta’s energy future. The five-member Premier's Advisory Council on Alberta's Energy Future is chaired by David Yager and includes oilpatch veterans. The panel will work with government ministries and industry stakeholders and generate recommendations. A report from the panel is due June 30th.

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