Alberta Minute: Healthcare Funding, Nursing Bursary, and Electric Vehicle Pilot

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

This Week In Alberta:

• The Legislature remains adjourned but will resume on February 28th. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts will meet on Tuesday at 9:00 am to discuss the Justice and Solicitor General Annual Report 2021-22 as well as the Auditor General’s report on the Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development for November 2022.
  
  
• On Thursday, at 1:00 pm, there will be a meeting of the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices. The Committee will continue a review of the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Annual Report 2021-22 and hear presentations from various Ministries about their work with the Office.
  
  
• We are hosting a Pints & Politics event on Thursday in conjunction with our friends at Common Sense Edmonton. 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 Brewsters Unity Square from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Please RSVP here. If you don’t live near Edmonton, don’t worry - there will be events near you coming soon, including one in Calgary next week.

Last Week In Alberta:

• Premier Danielle Smith met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss health care funding and said she expects to sign a 10-year deal with the federal government very soon. The deal includes an immediate increase to the Canada Health Transfer, some of which comes with no strings attached. That increase represents about $518 million new dollars for Alberta. There is, however, federal money set aside for bilateral deals with various provinces, and Smith said the specifics of Alberta’s deal will likely take longer to hammer out. Ottawa wants that money to come with conditions. Ideally, the federal government would just transfer tax points instead, letting Alberta control our own healthcare programs - as guaranteed in the constitution.
  
  
• The Province announced an expansion to its New Beginnings Bursary program for low-income nursing students. The program was originally launched last year to help students enter in-demand fields like engineering, computer science, and aircraft maintenance, Now, with an $8.5 million funding boost, it will provide up to 1,700 nursing students with a one-time bursary of $5,000. The government hopes the entire New Beginnings program will help around 3,400 low-income students across various fields by the end of 2023-24 academic year, with a total investment of $17 million.
  
  
• FortisAlberta has invited electric vehicle (EV) owners to participate in a pilot program aimed at testing the limits of Alberta's electrical infrastructure. Participants will receive incentives for their time, and the results of the Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Pilot will help answer questions about the impact of EV adoption on the province's system. To participate, EV owners need to download the Optiwatt smart charging app and live within Fortis' service area. The pilot will end on December 31st, and there are 600 spots available. The results of the program will help Fortis understand its customers' vehicle charging requirements and demonstrate opportunities for managed charging to mitigate grid impacts.

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