Alberta Minute: Summer Fundraiser, Education Funding, and a Devastating Jasper Fire

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

This Week In Alberta:

• We don't usually make an explicit pitch for support in these emails, but an incredibly generous donor has offered to match any donations you make until the end of the month. We are almost halfway to our Summer Fundraising goal, so if you're able to help out, you can double your impact today by clicking this link.
  
  
• The Alberta government is allocating $215 million to address rising costs and increased enrollment in schools. This funding will enhance operational budgets for school authorities and expand classrooms in rapidly growing communities. Premier Danielle Smith highlighted the need for additional spaces and resources due to the influx of new residents in Alberta. The Province is also investing $90 million to construct and install up to 100 new modular classrooms and relocate 50 existing ones, creating 2,500 new and 1,250 optimized student spaces in Calgary and Edmonton.
  
  
• An evacuation order is still in effect in Jasper as 154 firefighters work to control hot spots around the town after last week's devastating wildfires (more on this below). The Alberta government announced expedited evacuation payments of $1,250 per adult and $500 per child to help with immediate relief, while discussions are already underway on ways to prevent similar disasters in future. Currently, because Jasper lies within a National Park, firefighting efforts are managed jointly by Parks Canada, a federal agency, and the Municipality of Jasper. The Province would like to make this a three-way unified command shared by the federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Parks Canada is also facing significant criticism over a lack of preventative work.

Last Week In Alberta:

• Wildfires in Jasper National Park burned 36,000 hectares and hit the town of Jasper, damaging an estimated 30% of the structures in the town, though critical infrastructure like schools, hospitals, and such remain intact, according to Parks Canada. While it’s incredibly sad to see the images coming out of Jasper, we’re thankful that 25,000 people were evacuated safely, and there has been no loss of life reported.
  
  
• Our friends at Second Street released a documentary called Health Reform Now, highlighting several key issues and potential solutions. The documentary notes that 17,032 patients died on waiting lists in Canada between April 2022 and March 2023, with significant increases in waiting times for heart surgeries and scans. The documentary suggests activity-based funding as a solution, where hospitals are funded per patient treated, unlike the current global budgeting method. It also proposes partnering with private clinics, reimbursing surgeries abroad, and allowing patients to choose between public and private options as ways to improve efficiency.
  
  
• Moody’s Rating has upgraded its outlook on the Government of Alberta’s financial situation from stable to positive, reflecting confidence in the Province's fiscal management. The upgrade is attributed to Alberta's adherence to its 2023 fiscal framework, which promises improved debt and liquidity levels. Alberta, one of only two Canadian provinces with a balanced budget, has benefited from high oil prices and revenues, contributing to its strong credit ratings. Moody's also commends the Province’s strategy of allocating 50% of annual surpluses to savings and the rest to debt repayment. Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said the upgrade is validation of their fiscal discipline, noting it as the Province’s fourth credit upgrade in a year.

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