The NDP opposition is among those with criticisms of the provincial budget.
Court Ellingson, the NDP Shadow Minister for Finance, says there’s several areas where the budget doesn’t help rural communities.
“It’s rural communities that have emergency departments regularly closed now on weekends. It’s rural communities that struggle the most in finding family doctors. Rural communities are struggling with schools that are old and need upgrading or need new equipment or also need teachers.”
Another major concern for many Albertans is the response to the tariffs coming from the United States.
Ellingson says Alberta needs to work with the other provinces when it comes to retaliation measures.
“We went into this negotiation if you will with the Premier saying the most important export product that we have that the United States absolutely depends on is off the table. Whether or not we agree or disagree as to whether or not curtailment of oil and gas is a good or a bad thing, you don’t put your cards on the table when you go into a negotiation.”
Elligson says the province could also benefit by working to remove inter-provincial trade barriers to help get more trade between Alberta and the rest of Canada.
You can listen to the full interview below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
