Government

Highlights of 2008 Speech from the Throne

The following are highlights of the government’s plan for Alberta as laid out in the 2008 Speech from the Throne.

A Plan for Alberta’s Health System

• Focus on the promotion of lifelong health.
• Continue the dialogue begun at the Healthy Communities Forum to help individuals, families and communities take greater control of their health.
• Work with community partners, First Nations and other stakeholders to address social causes of poor health, especially as they affect children and youth. 
• Outline strategies to further increase access to community-based health care, and improve access to family physicians.
• Implement provincial standards to prevent and control infection.
• Invest in health infrastructure.
• Increase the number of training spaces for health care workers.
• Continue recruitment of internationally educated health professionals.
• Work with the federal government and regulatory bodies to facilitate the entry of qualified professionals into the health workforce.
• Create a new, long-term directional plan for Alberta’s health system.

A Plan for Education and Employment

• Establish a youth advisory committee on education. 
• Co-host an education research symposium.
• Implement the agreement to resolve the unfunded teachers’ pension liability.
• Introduce legislation to improve transferability and access to post-secondary education, and enhance accountability to ensure accessible, affordable and quality education.
• Develop sector-specific strategies to address the work force needs of the forestry, transportation, and non-profit and volunteer sectors, and increase participation of Aboriginal Albertans in the workforce. 
• Implement a foreign qualification recognition plan.
• Double the Provincial Nominee Program, an employer-driven immigration program, to 5,000 people.
• Support temporary foreign workers through new advisory offices opened in December and stepped-up workplace inspections.

A Plan for Community Infrastructure

• Continue to implement the 20-year strategic capital plan.
• Start construction of 18 new schools in Edmonton and Calgary using a new model of public-private partnerships.
• Double the provincial investment in highway repaving and bridge repairs over the next three years.

A Plan to Improve Services for Albertans in Their Communities

• Help low- and middle-income families with the costs of care for school-aged children.
• Enhance the availability of out-of-school care programs.
• Help ensure that children are in safe, supervised environments before and after school.
• Work with First Nations and Métis Albertans to strengthen their roles in Alberta. 
• Create effective partnerships to support Aboriginal economic development and employment opportunities.
• Work with other governments, friendship centers, and other Aboriginal representatives to enhance urban Aboriginal initiatives.
• Increase benefits under the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program.
• Provide additional employment supports to AISH clients who want to work. 
• Provide further investments to help contracted agencies attract and retain qualified workers to support adults with developmental disabilities, as well as children and families. 
• Appoint a demographic planning commission to study the needs of an aging population.   
• Create more than 11,000 new affordable housing units over five years.
• Partner with municipalities to increase the supply of available rental accommodation, particularly for students and seniors.
• Take steps to end homelessness in Alberta within 10 years with the creation of the Alberta Secretariat for Action on Homelessness. 
• Implement new cultural policy to guide decisions on the support and development of Alberta’s culture. 

A Plan to Reduce Crime and Violence

• Allocate significant new funding to implement a strategy to reduce crime and make communities safer.
• Increase access to mental health services and treatment for drug addictions. 
• Provide funding to add more front-line police officers to target serious crimes involving violence and drugs.
• Launch a new investigative unit to target organized criminal activities, such as drug dens, gang and prostitution houses, and shut down properties that are breeding grounds for crime and disturbances.
• Put more probation officers in communities.
• Allocate new funding to appoint more judges and hire more crown prosecutors and support staff.
• Develop a strategy to foster sensible alcohol use and reduce alcohol-related harm. 
• Increase the number of inspectors to ensure that rules regarding the sale and consumption of alcohol in licensed establishments are respected.

A Plan for the Environment

• Implement a practical and achievable climate change plan.
• Create an innovative new approach to land-use planning and assessing cumulative effects of development.
• Continue to strengthen environmental protection for the oil sands region.
• Develop a strategy for responsible energy development and use in Alberta. 
• Begin work with industry to put in place infrastructure needed to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions from large industrial facilities.   
• Increase funding to improve knowledge of surface and groundwater resources.
• Increase capacity to monitor water resources.  

A Plan for the Cornerstones of Alberta’s Economy

• Make legislative and process changes to implement the new royalty framework.
• Enhance the energy regulatory system.
• Work with individual agriculture industries on a new competitiveness initiative.
• Strive to increase market access for Alberta’s agricultural products.
• Continue to advocate for an agreement in World Trade Organization negotiations to reduce foreign subsidies and increase market access.
• Support the federal government’s plan for grain marketing reforms.
• Explore opportunities to improve the forest industry’s competitiveness through the Forest Industry Sustainability Committee.
• Remain vigilant in the battle against the mountain pine beetle, with a focus on protecting watersheds in the foothills and preventing the front-line of the infestation from moving into the boreal forest.

A Plan for Managing Public Dollars Wisely; A Plan for Health Care Premiums

• Introduce legislation to phase out Alberta Health Care insurance premiums for all Albertans within four years. This will result in a savings of $1,056 per year for families, $528 per year for individuals and more than $84 million per year collectively for municipalities, universities, schools and hospitals.
• Introduce a new savings strategy with a revitalized Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and a renewed commitment to save for the future. 
• Maintain Alberta’s competitive tax advantage.

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