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MLA Jackie Lovely: Camrose MSP projects

Opinion
23322836_web1_LovelyUCP

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Alberta has taken steps to protect the lives and livelihoods of all Albertans.

Through the Alberta Recovery Plan, the government has responded to the unprecedented challenge posed by the continued pandemic with measures to help our provincial and local economies recover, as well as put us in a better position for the future.

One of the most prominent initiatives that the government has introduced is the Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP), which provides additional capital infrastructure funding to municipalities and Métis Settlements. The Government of Alberta has directed $500 million to the MSP to support economic recovery and fund jobs across our province.

In the latest round of MSP funding announcements, ten projects within the Camrose constituency have been approved, directing more than $2.6 million in investments into the constituency.

Approved projects include the 51st avenue utility services project, water reservoir roof repairs and relocation of sport courts, a pedestrian railway extension, traffic control improvements, and pedestrian signal installation, among others.

The approved projects are located in the City of Camrose, Town of Bashaw, Town of Tofield, Village of Alliance, and the Village of Heisler, spreading out the economic stimulus throughout the constituency. Each project will create several direct jobs, dependent on the size of the project, as well as indirect jobs and stimulus in the surrounding areas.

Through the funding allocations, we can sustain and create local jobs, enhance provincial competitiveness and productivity, position communities to participate in future economic growth, and reduce municipal red tape to promote job-creating private sector investment.

All of these will contribute to the overarching priorities of the Alberta Recovery Plan of job creation, building infrastructure, and diversifying our economy, with the ultimate goal of getting our province back on track after the economic hit of COVID-19.

In addition to the $500 million supplied by the Government of Alberta for these shovel-ready projects, Alberta is also matching $233 million in federal funding to support municipal operating costs during the pandemic and $70 million to support public transit operating costs, creating an additional $606 million under the federal Safe Restart Agreement. With these initiatives combined, Alberta municipalities will receive more than $1.1 billion to build core infrastructure, support municipal and public transit operating costs, and create thousands of good-paying jobs now.

I’m very glad to see these worth-while projects going ahead in Camrose that will both stimulate our local economy now, as well as put our communities in a better position in the years ahead. These MSP-funded capital projects are just one way in which the UCP government is investing in rural Alberta and the Camrose constituency.

As always, I am honoured to serve as your MLA.



Emily Jaycox

About the Author: Emily Jaycox

I’m Emily Jaycox, the editor of Ponoka News and the Bashaw Star. I’ve lived in Ponoka since 2015 and have over seven years of experience working as a journalist in central Alberta communities.
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