Alberta government makes economy, health care priorities

Health minister to unveil plan for health-care changes Wednesday morning

Last Updated: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 | 6:28 PM ET

CBC News

Premier Ed Stelmach's government plans to focus on the economy and health care as it opens the spring session of the Alberta legislature.

Those were the main points of the Conservative government's speech from the throne, read by Lt.-Gov. Norman Kwong in the legislature on Tuesday afternoon.

The red carpet was out Tuesday for the speech from the throne at the opening of the legislature session in Edmonton.
(Adrienne Lamb/CBC)

The government plans to set up a council for economic strategy, under the direction of the premier, to give advice on how to keep the economy growing over the long term.

"We know that sustainability must be part of everything we do," said Stelmach. "That's why special attention will be paid to ensuring energy development, particularly in the oilsands, happens in a responsible way."

It is also promising to set up a new fund to attract venture capital to Alberta.

The government also is making a commitment to improve access to the health-care system.

"Key among … priorities is a renewed commitment to improve Alberta's publicly funded health system in the coming year and over the long term," Kwong said in the speech.

The government says it will continue building health-care facilities, hiring more doctors, nurses and other professionals, and encouraging students to enter the health-care field as a profession.

Health-care premiums, which the government pledged to eliminate in the recent provincial election, will be phased out over four years, the speech said.

The government plans to move quickly on the health-care file, with Health Minister Ron Liepert scheduled to roll out his plan for changes to the system on Wednesday morning.

Also included in the speech:

• The government will take a "leadership role" in the creation of 14,000 new child-care spaces by 2011.
• Plans to invest "more than ever before" in the provincial highway network.
• A premier's council on arts and culture will be established.
• A government-industry council to advise on technology for carbon capture and storage will be created.

This is the second throne speech from the Stelmach government in a little more than two months. The Tories used the Feb. 3 speech to lay out their plans and immediately called a provincial election.

That election returned Stelmach to office with a massive majority — 72 of the 83 seats in the legislature.