AUMA advocates for a multi-billion dollar economic stimulus package

Last week, AUMA had the opportunity to meet with provincial leaders about the design of a provincial economic stimulus package for shovel-ready projects. We took this opportunity to reiterate our recommendation that all communities should receive a portion of the funding using the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) formula as it will ensure that businesses and workers in every part of the province can benefit from the investment. 

Following the meeting, AUMA sent another letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs where we call for the economic stimulus funding to extend beyond shovel-ready projects to be a multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment in Alberta’s communities. Considering the impact of COVID-19 and depressed oil prices, it may take years for Alberta’s economy to recover. As such, a multi-year investment would greatly support the confidence of investors and the public that Alberta continues to be a prime market for businesses to invest. We are encouraging the Government of Alberta to announce the funding in 2020 and cashflow it over the upcoming years.  

We will continue to engage the province on this issue and look forward to the release of the provincial economic stimulus measures. In the meantime, municipalities can continue to send listings of shovel-ready projects to Municipal Affairs per the instructions outlined in last week’s issue of Digest.