The City of Edmonton’s priorities for the Provincial Budget

This budget, the first one the province is unveiling since this pandemic hit Alberta, will set the direction for our post COVID-19 recovery and the City of Edmonton has a lot of skin in the game. Edmonton’s ability to “bounce back” will be measured in how our municipal priorities are met in this budget — and I don’t think the City’s budget asks/priorities are that far off from the Premier’s messaging around the budget focusing on “protecting lives and livelihoods”.

Here are our priorities for the upcoming budget which centre on jobs, keeping promises made to municipalities and working to end homelessness.

Maintain crucial municipal infrastructure stimulus and help us maintain jobs

A third of the City’s total government grants come from the province’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) program — this program is essential to the City’s capital plan and our city-building efforts. 

Not only does this MSI spur job creation in the local construction industry and other related “spin-off” industries, but it also ensures we’re building and maintaining the infrastructure that is essential to a thriving economy. Critical municipal infrastructure businesses and Edmontonians rely on including roadways and bridges, water and wastewater systems, and public transit facilities. 

Cuts in this area could mean very tangible blow-backs: unlike other levels of government the City cannot run a deficit so a cut to our infrastructure grants can translate to cutbacks and impacts to jobs (livelihoods), which ultimately means unemployment — something I think we can all agree our economy doesn’t need right now. 

It can also translate into uncertainty for our construction sector (many of whom depend on the city maintaining current spending levels) and, if cuts to MSI are spread out over the course of a few years, could mean we’ll be digging ourselves into an “infrastructure deficit” by not having the resources needed to maintain the infrastructure we currently have.

Keeping Promises, especially around transit infrastructure 

In addition to ensuring the government maintains infrastructure grants, I’ll also be keeping an eye on the promises that have been made to Edmonton around projects like the Capital Line South LRT extension.

The Capital Line South LRT extension would take the train from Century Park to the Ellerslie road Park and Ride and in order to maintain the possible 2022 construction start, the City would need to ensure the money already earmarked for this project in previous budgets, remains in the province’s budget this time around and isn’t cut. 

This LRT extension project will generate a significant economic benefit both in the short term and for many years to come including approximately 9,530 jobs and $1.05 billion in wages and salaries generated. Then there are of course the climate and quality of life benefits an expanded south LRT line will bring which include affordable, efficient transit for tens of thousands of households in the area while also a reduction in our GHG emissions. 

Investing in transit and the build out of our LRT not only provides us with some much needed economic stimulus but also ensures we’re emerging from this pandemic with infrastructure that will allow us to bounce back a more connected city, with shorter commutes and the long term benefits of the economic stimulus transit oriented developments provides us with.

Save millions of taxpayer dollars by investing in housing

Housing, housing, housing — it’s not only the solution to ending homelessness but also ensures we’re using our provincial tax dollars efficiently. 

I’ve mentioned previously that a strategic investment in supportive housing to get individuals with very complex needs off the street will reduce costs to the health, justice and law enforcement systems. Studies of Edmonton’s Ambrose Place have shown, for example, a 61 percent decrease in emergency room visits by residents; a reduction in the overall rate of inpatient hospital stays from 40 to 14 days per year; and overall savings for police and justice systems of $480,000 annually — all resulting from this one development alone! 

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year (ending March 31, 2020), the Government of Alberta provided approximately $49.7 million to agencies across the province to deliver emergency shelter and transitional housing services. Approximately $10 million of that was provided to non-profit agencies in Edmonton. We’re asking the province to invest some of that money, specifically $5.9 million, to fund supports for the housing the City and the Federal government are already building through the federal government’s Rapid Housing Initiative.

Not only will this investment in housing create a pathway to recovery for Albertans trapped in a cycle of mental and physical health issues and homelessness, but it will also boost job creation and private sector investment, realize health and justice cost savings I mentioned earlier, and build delivery capacity in our civil society and non-profit organizations, many of which would like to pivot from triaging homelessness to operating more housing.

The only thing missing is the provincial government commitment. I’ve done a great deal of advocacy with Canada’s big city mayors to get federal investment to acquire housing units, whether it’s through construction, which creates jobs, or acquisition of hotels that are currently in a distressed marked and sitting empty. The federal government has signalled that they are willing to put more money on the table to help end chronic homelessness, but in order to that they’ll need the province’s commitment to fund supports (like nurses or social services supports) for these units.

I really hope to see the province step up and commit to the “lights-on” funding for these housing units so we can make progress towards our goal of ending homelessness, reduce the burden on the shelter system and also save money in health care and justice.