AUMA continues advocacy on infrastructure

AUMA members have long called for improvements to Alberta’s capital planning process to make it more effective and transparent.

In addition, we have identified the need for improved coordination between provincial, municipal, and private sector investments.

The provincial government has committed to a number of items related to infrastructure, including:

• Pass the Alberta Infrastructure Act that will provide transparency on prioritization criteria, establish predictable funding levels, and ensure adequate maintenance of existing assets
• Prepare and publicly release an annual Government of Alberta Infrastructure Report as part of the province’s Annual Report to provide detailed information to Albertans on the progress made in meeting the various commitments in the Five-Year Capital Plan
• Prepare and publicly release a 20-Year Strategic Capital Plan for Alberta.

On Tuesday, AUMA President Barry Morishita shared municipal perspectives on these items with the media. “As AUMA understands right now, both the Alberta Infrastructure Act and the 20-Year Capital Plan will only include provincially-owned assets and infrastructure within their scopes.

“Local community representatives and perspectives should be consulted in development of both the Act and Capital Plans, as the local communities have the best perspectives of how provincial infrastructure affects their residents, businesses and opportunities for economic development.”

We consider improvements to provincial infrastructure funding to be positive, so long as municipalities are engaged at every stage.

Regarding municipally-owned and controlled infrastructure, AUMA and its members look forward to getting more specific information about what infrastructure funding will be made available to municipalities and the provincial government’s commitments to existing capital plans. Stable funding is vital to maintaining quality roads, sidewalks, water systems, recreation facilities, fire protection systems, and other infrastructure Alberta businesses and residents rely on daily.