By Charles Lefebvre

Provincial government delivers Throne Speech

Mar 18, 2019 | 3:35 PM

EDMONTON, AB — The NDP laid out its plan for Alberta for the coming year, ahead of a spring election call, during the Speech from the Throne Monday afternoon.

The speech, delivered by Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell, started the most recent session of the legislative assembly, and spoke of the provincial government’s plans and focuses for the coming session.

Healthcare will be one of the big focuses of the session, according to the speech. The first bill the NDP plans to introduce during the session would prevent queue jumping and preferential access to health care service.

“Whether you come to a hospital with a fur coat, or no coat, you deserve the same world-class health care as everyone else,” Premier Rachel Notley said during a speech in Edmonton on Monday. “It’s a fundamental right of all Albertans, and it is under attack. We are going to defend the hospitals that all Albertans rely on.”

The throne speech also touched on issues of economic diversification, noting the province had already attracted $13 billion in private sector investment for refining and upgrading in Alberta.

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“Gone are the days when we burn our resources for nothing, gone are the days where we pay lip service to diversification,” Notley said. “We are grabbing hold of the future.”

The throne speech adds up to 4,400 rail cars will be leased starting July to begin moving backlogged oil, and says they intend to keep pushing for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.

The speech also touched on childcare, with the NDP saying they plan to introduce new programs about making child care affordable for young mothers and families. It also mentioned plans to invest in broadband service in rural areas.

Jim Groom, a political science instructor at Medicine Hat College, says the speech was a preview of the NDP’s campaign during the upcoming election.

“It is their opportunity to establish the platform they want to go forward with, the agenda they want to do, and they can also use this as an excuse if they do lose, and they can say ‘now, you can have the government that you picked, and they won’t have all these things we enunciated and thought were really good aspects,” he said.

Groom adds he is predicting the provincial election won’t be called until early May, and the vote taking place later in the month. By law, the election must be held before May 31.

He believes a late election call could be advantageous for the NDP.

“They can roll out some other agenda,” he said. “They can wait and see if there are any determinations on pipelines, though I doubt it will be a solid determination. They can wait and see how embroiled the UCP becomes as far as this new scandal is concerned, so to a large extent, this is to their advantage.”