In my excitement to share the good news in the constituency regarding Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) funding this year, I jumped to share the news and now have part two. Bashaw will be receiving Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP) funding to build shovel-ready infrastructure projects right now! This support comes above and beyond Bashaw’s annual MSI allocation, and it will help create many good jobs for people in our riding.
Now, let’s get into specifics.
Bashaw’s total MSI allocation for this fiscal year is $316,502. Bashaw’s additional MSP allocation, meanwhile, is $98,661. Projects will include the arena roof replacement, curling rink roof rehabilitation, and arena maintenance room rehabilitation. These allocations are based on a formula that has been used for several years and is based on things like population, kilometres of road, etc. All of this information is publicly available online at Alberta.ca.
Most Albertans are familiar with the MSI program, but the MSP program is something new. The MSP program was announced by our government to help support municipalities through the COVID-19 pandemic. The MSP program costs $500 million and is funded by the province. Our government also matched money with the federal government (approximately $300 million each) to support Alberta municipalities, like Bashaw, with their day-to-day operating expenses.
This stimulus support was historic and was welcomed by local leaders across the province, so it’s disappointing to see some people intentionally trying to misrepresent it at this critical time in our province’s history.
Alberta is facing an unprecedented economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, global recession and world oil price collapse.
This historic stimulus support for municipalities is part of our Economic Recovery Plan, which takes bold action to create jobs that get people back to work, build infrastructure and diversify the economy. It is also part of our wider $10 billion investment in infrastructure across the province, the largest infrastructure build in Alberta history.
Just as governments invested in jobs and capital to help get people through the Great Depression, so are we investing now. This funding will build critical infrastructure that will pay long-term economic benefits for our province, create good-paying jobs right now and inject much-needed economic stimulus into our province.
I speak to people from our constituency every single day about their families, businesses, priorities, hopes and dreams. Our province is going through very tough times right now, but we have faced tough times before, and just as we persevered then, we will persevere now.
We are Albertans. We are the doers, the dreamers, and the people who have accomplished the impossible, time and time again.
Our government isn’t going to impose a total lockdown of the economy, like the NDP is asking for. We’re implementing strong and thoughtful public health measures that protect lives and livelihoods, and we’re investing in the future of our province.
We understand that municipalities like Bashaw are on the front lines of this pandemic, and are the lifeblood of our great province. With all of us working together, communities like Bashaw will come out of this situation stronger than before.