EDMONTON—The Alberta government’s 2022 budget was not written to serve Albertans, but to divert public assets to the UCP’s corporate funders, says the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).
“This is the biggest hand over of public assets that Albertans have seen in decades,” says AUPE vice-president Susan Slade. “If you want to see who wins in this budget, follow the money – and vast sums of money and public assets will be flowing to private and for-profit corporations.”
Slade adds: “Since the UCP was elected, it has deliberately under-funded and undermined public services, including health care, education, post-secondary education and government services. Now that it has inflicted this damage, it is seeking to break up what remains and hand over huge parts to their friends in business so they can make profits.”
Health care
Under the Alberta Surgical Initiative (ASI), Budget 2022 includes spending at least $133 million over three years to double the number of surgeries to be carried out by for-profit operators.
Slade says: “This approach is not new, but we have never seen anything of this scale before. Just as we have seen in Saskatchewan and elsewhere, this will make waiting lists longer, not shorter, and costs more money in the long run. Private operators drain resources from the public system on which we all rely.”
Continuing care
The budget reveals more plans to create 1,515 new continuing-care beds in 2022-23, but AUPE expects the government to offload this care to the private sector.
“Albertans have suffered under this deadly pandemic for two years now, and still the UCP learned nothing,” says Slade.
“COVID-19 proved beyond doubt that the current profit-driven model of continuing care cannot cope. This approach takes money away from care and puts it into profits and executive bonuses. It relies on a staffing model that refuses to offer full-time work and forces low-paid front-line care staff to work multiple jobs. This approach led many Albertans in care to their deaths."
Education
A total of $72 million is being handed over to charter schools and collegiates over three years, including $47 million in capital costs. This could have been invested in the public system.
“Instead of funnelling public money to private operators outside the system, we need to invest in our public schools, so they are better equipped to teach our children and keep them safe in future crises. With this budget, only those families that can afford to pay extra will get the quality education and the smaller class sizes that all Alberta’s children deserve," says Slade.
Post-secondary education
Budget 2022 increases spending on post-secondary education by $211 million this year, but that fails to make up for the devastating cuts of $690 million in the last three years.
Slade says: “Post-secondary education should be a path to a better future for Albertans who need jobs after years of recession and struggle. Instead of helping Albertans learn and grow, our colleges and universities are being starved. This government’s cuts have destroyed hundreds of post-secondary jobs in the last few years. Investing in Albertans would pay huge dividends to Alberta, but that’s not happening.”
Budget revenues
The budget predicts an increase in revenue of $18 billion to $61.7 billion in the coming year.
“This unexpected boost comes while we are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on Albertans. This was a golden opportunity to invest in Albertans, to help them recover, to rebuild our vital public services so we can withstand the next threat,” says Slade.
“Instead, this government has chosen to ignore the needs of Albertans and funnel funds, assets, and opportunities to corporate control.
“The pandemic showed that publicly funded and publicly delivered services work best. That’s true for acute care, continuing care, government services, education, and post-secondary education. Unfortunately, Premier Jason Kenney is more concerned with creating profits for his pals than providing good services and saving lives.”
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Susan Slade is available for comment.
For information, please contact Terry Inigo-Jones, communications, at 403-831-4394 or t.inigo-jones@aupe.org