New School Update and Snelgrove Comes Unglued

I, along with most residents in Airdrie and Chestermere, was disappointed to see no funding for new schools detailed in Budget 2011. It was doubly frustrating, among the many examples of gross financial mismanagement in Budget 2011, to see $115 million set aside for new MLA offices (that’s enough for 5 or 6 new schools) and roughly $500 million over 3 years in grants to companies for pumping CO2 into the ground!

I did speak to Education Minister Dave Hancock after the budget was released and he again assured me that an announcement on new schools for Airdrie and Chestermere is coming soon. Assuming we are not being lied to (and the Minister has given me no reason to think that he is), it is good to hear of the impending announcement. However, because no funds were set aside in this budget year for these schools, it is likely that our schools will be announced as a part of a larger P3 project, which means we may not see the new schools actually opened in our communities until the fall of 2014. If construction was started this summer we’d have our schools completed by 2013 at the latest.

I did ask the Minister of Finance, Lloyd Snelgrove, a question on this issue and he responded in a way that defies all logic. I apologize in advance for a Minister of the Crown attacking our communities in such an offensive manner; however, my constituents need to understand just how out of touch and arrogant the current Government has become. Here is the text of the Question Period exchange (I’ll have it up on my Youtube page shortly):

Mr. Anderson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week the Wildrose presented an alternative, balanced budget proposal that would erase this government's $3.4 billion deficit. Our proposal includes the spending of $4.2 billion on infrastructure. That's higher than the Ontario, Quebec, and B.C. average. Airdrie-Chestermere has roughly 65,000 people in it, so our share of that $4.2 billion would be $73 million. This is more than enough for three schools. To the Treasury Board president: will you ensure that this $73 million is spent on three new schools this year for my constituents? They ask for nothing more than that.

Mr. Snelgrove: That is exactly what they asked for, Mr. Speaker: their schools, their long-term care facilities, everything in their community, and the rest of Alberta can just go to hell.

Mr. Anderson: Well, Minister, people from Airdrie and Chestermere pay their taxes, too. Maybe you should review that answer. They've been greatly shortchanged these past 10 years. We ask only for fairness, Mr. Minister. Given that Budget 2011 allocates $115 million for the newly renovated MLA offices…would this minister be willing to put these new MLA offices on hold and use this $115 million instead to build urgently needed schools in Airdrie, or are (new MLA offices) a big priority for Albertans Minister?

Mr. Snelgrove: What we said: as long as it's being built in their community, they're happy. Mr. Speaker, we recognize – we've met with the school board in Airdrie. We've met with town council. I'll tell you: a great problem Alberta has is that we do have a growing student population, and we can solve the problem. The minister is working diligently and carefully with the school boards to see how we can accelerate the school building program.

I’m not sure what the Finance Minister was thinking about when he launched into this tirade; however, I sure hope he simply had a temporary lapse of judgment. If he really thinks the taxpayers of our community are being selfish for wanting 3 long overdue schools this year, then I have a few local parents and students I’d love to introduce to him to.

I ask you, as members of our community, to continue to write letters, send emails and make phone calls in support of securing funding for our needed new schools. Apparently the Finance Minister still hasn’t received the message.