Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was quick to voice his displeasure with the Conservative’s new budget that came out Thursday afternoon.
He says that there is nothing in it that will help cities and towns in the province, and that includes funding for crucial transit projects.
“There wasn’t anything today that will help us get started on bus lanes, or LRT extensions, or anything like that,” he said on Thursday.
The Conservatives made the decision to freeze funding for municipalities at $900M.
Nenshi says that they don’t rely solely on provincial funding for these projects and are working hard to secure alternative means of financing city projects, making public transit a priority.
Staff at Alberta’s post secondary schools will also be feeling the impact of budget cuts after their funding was cut by seven percent.
They’ll have to make do with $2B.
Even with the cuts, schools like the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University, and Lethbridge College will see about $500M spent on capital projects this year.
The province also made a surprising move, tying research funding to a new policy.
Finance Minister Doug Horner says funding must align with ‘the government’s economic diversification agenda.’
“To help achieve this dynamic new direction, institutions will be give mandate letters defining their roles and government’s expectations for a more united post-secondary system.”
Student groups say the cuts are a ‘mistake’.
