LAC LA BICHE - The provincial MLA for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche, Laila Goodridge, is in support of the province’s 2021 budget decisions that were announced during last Thursday’s presentation by Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews.
"If you don't have your health, you have very little"
- Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche MLA Laila Goodridge
It was made clear that the province has been hit hard because of the pandemic, with an $18.2 billion deficit, but Goodridge believes that the choices made moving forward are the right ones to get Alberta back on track.
“I think this was actually a very responsible budget, meaning that we are really putting key investments in priority areas like healthcare and job creation,” said Goodridge, explaining that the province has raised the health spending budget to $1 billion, which is the most it has ever been. “I think this pandemic has shown us that we need to make sure we are budgeting for healthcare, because if you don’t have your health, you have very little.”
The increase in healthcare will also help with the surgical initiative program, which addresses the extensive backlog of people waiting to get important surgeries. The waitlist has become even longer as COVID-19 has contributed to a lot of delays in healthcare when it comes to surgeries, says Goodridge, who is making the surgical initiative program a priority this year for northeastern Alberta.
“I’m pushing from my end to make sure that we have a lot of those surgeries happening and a lot of our rural facilities across Northern Alberta to help us meet the challenge that we have to get rid of those backlogs,” she said.
Another industry that has been hit hard during the pandemic is the oil and gas sector, and even though it’s been struggling, Goodridge says it’s important to not give up on an industry that has economically supported not only the province, but the country, for so long.
“I think it’s critical to acknowledge the fact that oil and oil revenues have been such a key part of Alberta’s revenue. Not only does it drive northeastern Alberta, but it drives Alberta’s budget and in fact Canada’s budget,” said Goodridge, adding that there have been some silver linings within the oil and gas industry when it comes to the rise in prices, and the differential decrease between Western Canadian Select and Western Texas Intermediate. “This is great news for our oil and gas producers all across the province. Most of those producers are very much concentrated within northeastern Alberta, so I think it’s great news for our region.”
Local youth benefit
Some site-specific features of the overall budget mean good news for the Lac La Biche area specifically, says Goodridge, proud to explain one multi-year, multi-million dollar enhancement. Over the course of the next three years, she says, the government has budgeted for $8.23 million to go towards the Youth Assessment Centre (YAC) in Lac La Biche for renovations and upgrades. The centre is for troubled youth aged 12 to 17, who need a safe environment to live in so they can work on their mental health issues, and trauma. The MLA is happy that YAC is getting the attention it deserves.
“Those renovations will extend the life of that facility for decades and decades to come. I am just so overjoyed to see it named specifically in the budget, and I think that just goes to show our government’s commitment to Northeastern Alberta,” said Goodridge.
For more information on the budget announcements, go to www.alberta.ca/budget
