Here in Ottawa, it’s not too hard to find federal Conservative MPs from Alberta who have been less than happy with the financial support provided by former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to communities in northern Alberta who had been struggling to keep up with the booming commercial development in the oil sands. Despite the incredible wealth the oil sands were producing for the province, many MPs from the northern part of the province often grumbled that Klein never put enough money back into the region to build new roads, sewers, hospitals, schools and so on.
Klein’s successor, Ed Stelmach, today heads off in a new direction, announcing $396–million over three years to provide new affordable housing and some new wastewater treatment facilities in the Fort MacMurray region.
In making this announcement, Stelmach is responding, part to the final report, tabled at the end of 2006, of the Oil Sands Ministerial Strategy Committee. The report had some specific recommendations to address current and future gaps in municipal and regional services.
The Liberals in Alberta say that extra funding of what amounts to $130–million a year seems a pittance compared to the wealth the region is generating.