By Terry Inigo-Jones, Communications staff
No matter how you dress it up, the Alberta government’s 2024 Budget is an austerity budget – and austerity budgets create a world of pain for Albertans in need.
“The government wants us to think of this budget as being about savings and planning for the future, but it’s trying to hide the cuts it’s making and the pain those cuts will cause,” says AUPE Vice-President Sandra Azocar.
“Premier Danielle Smith may think she fooled Albertans, but she has not. Albertans know that our healthcare system is in crisis, they know their children are in overcrowded classrooms, they know they’re not getting the public services they need.”
The government had a $6.4-billion surplus left over from 2023 but chose not to use that money to help Albertans in need.
“Albertans will soon see the effects of starving public services,” says Azocar. “Wait times in Emergency Rooms will get longer. Emergency departments and healthcare facilities in rural communities will shut down. School class sizes will get bigger.”
AUPE members at the government’s Ministry of Children and Family Services paint a terrifying picture. Staff shortages and staggering workloads are hurting vulnerable children and causing mental health anguish for the workers.
Children are in danger because overworked staff do not have the resources and time to perform assessments when they are needed.
Azocar told the CBC: “Unfortunately, [those] who suffer are the children that we deal with. Because if they are left in a situation that is life and death, then kids will die … and that is the hard reality of what we are talking about.”
Meanwhile, Albertans should brace for another bad wildfire season. The government has not planned ahead, has not put enough money aside for a disaster, and has failed to recruit and retain seasonal workers tasked with fighting fires.
“Alberta Wildfire staff tell us they’re scared, and they think Albertans should be scared, too. They have faced years of cuts. They have been overworked and underfunded for years. This austerity budget is making things worse."
Last year’s wildfires and drought cost the province $2.9 billion dollars. With more drought this year and warmer temperatures on the way, Alberta should prepare for another bad year, but the government has limited its contingency fund to only $2 billion.
Its failure to hire experienced seasonal workers in the department of Natural Resources means that wildland fire crews are being headed by people with only one or two years of experience and they are leading teams with even less experience.
“Alberta Wildfire staff tell us they’re scared, and they think Albertans should be scared, too,” says Azocar. “They have faced years of cuts. They have been overworked and underfunded for years. This austerity budget is making things worse.”
The government predicts Alberta's population will grow by 175,000 people this year, which it describes as “a pace not seen in decades.” Growth like is the equivalent of adding another Grande Prairie, Medicine Hat, Lacombe, and High River combined. All those new people will inevitably rely on some government services, which means the level of services should grow with the province.
To maintain services at the same level as 2023, government spending would need to increase by 6.2% this year, the combined cost of increased population plus inflation. But that is nowhere near what the government is investing with its budget.
“An increase of 6.2% would mean only that we are maintaining the status quo,” says Azocar. “Maintaining the status quo care means keeping our services in crisis without doing anything to fix the problems.”
She adds: “But we’re not even going to maintain that level because healthcare spending is increasing by only 4.4%, leaving a $500 million hole in the health budget. Things are going to get worse, not better."
Adding to the chaos is the government’s plan to “restructure” Alberta Health Services (AHS) by dividing it up into four separate entities: Acute Care; Primary Care; Continuing Care; and Mental Health and Addiction.
That process cost $15 million last year and is priced at $70 million in 2024. The cost of tearing up AHS could have paid for 796 Licensed Practical Nurses or 1,112 Health Care Aides for an entire year.
“The government wasted over $31 million trying to privatize health laboratories in Alberta, plus another $65.5 million in liabilities it had to take on for that misadventure,” says Azocar. “More recently, the UCP wasted another $69 million when they cancelled the new hospital in south Edmonton.”
It is the same story in all government departments. There will be no additional workers hired to manage the increased workload in Children’s and Family Services; Seniors, Communities and Social Services; nor Indigenous Relations.
“Premier Danielle Smith may think she fooled Albertans, but she has not. Albertans know that our healthcare system is in crisis, they know their children are in overcrowded classrooms, they know they’re not getting the public services they need.”
“Once again, workers who provide vital services to vulnerable Albertans will be told to do more with less,” says Azocar.
“The UCP’s approach is the same across the board. There is zero long-term planning. Nothing in their budget makes up for the years of cuts in health care, education, government services, nor boards and agencies.”
More than 82,000 AUPE members enter collective bargaining this year, most of whom work for the provincial government and AHS. If you bet the government has not budgeted to give these AUPE members the raises and resources they deserve, you would have bet right.
“AUPE members have carried the province on their backs for years,” says Azocar. “They’ve had enough and they’re in no mood to back down. They are determined to fight for better pay, better working conditions, and the quality services all Albertans rely on.
“We need to take care of them so they can do their jobs and take care of us.”