BuildingAlbertaPlan.ca #BuildingAlberta

Investing in Families and Communities

Opening New Markets

Living Within Our Means

2013 Edition

Investing in families and communities

by building the new roads, schools and health facilities we need, and strengthening programs that support children, families, seniors and vulnerable Albertans.

Opening new markets for Alberta’s resources to get fairer prices to further strengthen our economy and to generate the revenue that supports the programs and services Albertans rely on.

Living within our means

by challenging every dollar government spends, investing wisely and saving for the future.

These are the characteristics that already define us. And they’re the reason that Alberta is the fastest-growing province in Canada.

Our Building Alberta Plan is about the real, measurable ways we’re protecting what Alberta has already achieved while building an even better quality of life for Albertans in the future.

Our Building Alberta Plan focuses on three key areas – investing in families and communities, living within our means and opening new markets for Alberta’s resources. It sets the stage for a stronger, more prosperous Alberta that will be able to adapt to an ever-changing global economy.

The Building Alberta Plan is based on what Albertans told us is most important: continuing to create good jobs and grow our economy, taking care of vulnerable Albertans and building an even better quality of life.

I’m proud to say, we’re already delivering on that promise.

A Message From Premier Alison RedfordThe Building Alberta Plan is the cornerstone of our government’s vision of an ambitious, welcoming province that is confident and proud of our ability to be a Canadian leader – where we can work and build an even stronger, modern, better province, together. A place that attracts the most ambitious, hardworking people from across Canada and around the world. A place where the energy of our people creates more innovative ‘Made in Alberta’ products and services. We are building towards this goal, while remaining a place where caring communities come together in times of need.

Alison Redford, Premier @Premier_Redford

From building and modernizing Alberta’s schools, to opening family care clinics across the province, we’re looking for ways to keep Alberta communities strong. We’ve also taken steps to hold the line on spending and have introduced results-based budgeting to ensure the dollars we’re spending are delivering real results.

And we’re standing up for Alberta on the world stage – working hard to open new markets for our resources so that Albertans get the fairest price possible. This will make sure we can continue to invest in what you told us is most important.

This document outlines the Building Alberta Plan and touches on some of the things we’ve done so far to turn this plan into action.

No matter what challenges our province may face, we’ll never lose sight of who we are as Albertans and what we value.

Let’s keep building Alberta, together!

As Albertans we’re proud of our strong economy and our unshakeable belief that we can do anything we put our minds to. We’re proud of the caring communities where we live and our shared strength in the face of challenge. It’s what defines Alberta and why, over the next decade,

we’ll welcome another million people to Canada’s fastest-growing province. The Building Alberta Plan is about the real, measurable ways we’re protecting Alberta’s gains and building an even better quality of life for Albertans in the future.

The Building Alberta Plan outlines how we are:

Quite simply, we can’t afford to stop building Alberta. Our quality of life depends on it.

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This means making sure every child has the opportunity for the best possible start in life so they can reach their full potential. It means ensuring that every Albertan has a home in the health system – a place where they have access to the care they need, when and where they need it. It means more schools in our growing communities, modern roads that get families safely where they need to go and keep our economy moving, and new infrastructure we need to enjoy a high quality of life. Investing in families and communities is at the core of our Building Alberta Plan, because our province’s future will be shaped by the people who call Alberta home.What investing in families and communities means to you: • Three family care clinics are already in operation, and 24 more are in development, on the way to meeting the government’s commitment of up to 140 family care clinics. These clinics enhance the primary health care options available to Albertans, offering access to a range of health professionals, with extended hours and same day appointments.• The 35 school capital projects announced in May 2011 are all underway or complete. This includes 22 new and replacement schools that are expected to open in the fall of 2014 in high-growth communities across the province. In addition, the construction of 50 new schools and the modernization of 70 existing schools will be undertaken over the next three years to accommodate Alberta’s booming student population, to keep class sizes down

It was a chance encounter while buying his first home that set Shyloh Bartlett on his path toward becoming a journeyman steamfitter-pipefitter. “I realized apprenticeship, especially in Alberta, offered a lot of opportunities. These types of skills are in such demand, and you can take them in so many different directions, that you can really achieve anything.” That mobility has allowed him to progress in his own career path, and given him opportunities to have lots of variety in his career.

Today the 38-year-old father of three works as an Industrial Construction Crew Supervisor at KBR Industrial Services in Edmonton, where he looks for opportunities to mentor young apprentices. “I was lucky when I started out to have people who showed me how to do things right. I hope I can do the same for others.”

Apprenticeship Opens Up Opportunities

Shyloh Bartlett Industrial Construction Crew Supervisor KBR Industrial Services

Investing in Families and Communities

Through the Building Alberta Plan we are investing in families and communities by building the new roads, schools and health facilities we need, and strengthening programs that support children, families, seniors and vulnerable Albertans.

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and to allow our students to excel in a highly competitive economy.• Improvements to our education system like student learning assessments, high school flexibility and our small class-size initiative will ensure our students have the best possible chance for success.• The twinning of Highway 63 is being fast-tracked to improve safety on one of our province’s most important and most travelled economic corridors. • $15 billion will be invested in essential infrastructure projects over the next three years, including $5.2 billion this year alone to improve the lives of Albertans.• Funding has been increased for programs that support Alberta’s most vulnerable citizens, including AISH, Persons with Developmental Disabilities, homelessness programs and child intervention programs. • Funding for the Municipal Sustainability Initiative has been maintained at nearly $900 million this year, so municipalities can continue to meet the local infrastructure priorities of Alberta communities.• 55,000 acres of crown land was made available for Fort McMurray, our fastest growing city, to expand over the next 25 years and become an even greater place to work, live and raise families.• Investing $85 million over 10 years to ensure Alberta’s eight Metis settlements have the resources to build stronger and self-sustaining communities.

We’ve said no to tax increases and a provincial sales tax. We know that low taxes are the key to attracting the new companies, new jobs and new investment that will fuel our economic growth and put us on a stronger financial footing for the future.

We will continue to ensure we’re investing wisely in the things that matter most to Albertans, such as health, education, infrastructure and supports for vulnerable citizens. We’ve introduced results-based budgeting, where every government program and every taxpayer dollar spent will be examined – a process that involves challenge panels made up of Albertans along with MLAs. These panels will make sure we’re getting real results and delivering what Albertans expect.

Alberta is the only province in Canada with a long term, multi-billion dollar savings account. This is a point of pride, and for the first time in over 25 years, we have a plan to start saving again. We will grow Alberta’s savings, which include the Heritage Fund, to over $24 billion in the next three years to help guarantee our province’s financial security.

Why living within our means is important to you:

• In the face of financial challenges, Budget 2013 kept operating spending increases to zero, because we recognize we can’t keep spending at the same rate of increase, and be sustainable.

Alberta’s success is driven by our global exports and we’re known for our oil and gas, beef, agricultural crops and lumber. Traditionally, we have relied on the United States to buy our products. But having only one major market puts our economy at risk. The lasting recession and increased energy production in the U.S. has resulted in reduced demand and lower prices for our products, creating economic challenges for our province.

Developing and growing markets in other parts of the world will help us get higher prices for our exported goods and services – and create more economic opportunity, investment, jobs and revenues to support the programs and services Albertans expect. Our Building Alberta Plan focuses on opening new markets because we know more markets means more long-term opportunities for all Albertans.For Alberta’s products to be welcomed in global markets, they need to be recognized as being produced responsibly. We need to prove that we are global citizens who care about responsible resource development.

• Public sector employees, including teachers, doctors and government managers – as well as MLAs – are leading by example with multi-year wage freezes because it’s the responsible thing to do for our province.

This year:

• Teachers supported a four-year agreement that provides labour stability and includes three years of zero wage increases.

• Alberta signed a seven-year contract with doctors, including three years of pay freezes, while ensuring physicians remain the highest-paid in Canada.

• Government managers’ wages were frozen for three years and over that same time we will reduce the number of public sector managers by 10 per cent.

• MLAs froze their pay after taking an eight per cent pay cut in 2012.

The Government of Alberta has also implemented Canada’s toughest expense disclosure policy, placing all expenses and receipts online.

Living Within Our Means

Opening New Markets for Alberta’s Resources

The Building Alberta Plan outlines how we are living within our means by challenging every dollar government spends, investing wisely and saving for the future.

The Building Alberta Plan demonstrates how we are opening new markets for Alberta’s resources to get fairer prices to further strengthen our economy and to generate the revenue that supports the programs and services Albertans rely on.

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Ceapro’s Biotechnology Innovations Drives Agriculture GrowthAlthough Edmonton’s Ceapro Inc. is known primarily as a biotechnology company, their connection to agriculture is critical to their success. “We’re both agriculture and innovation,” explains Branko Jankovic, Chief Financial Officer for Ceapro. With the continued success of a recent research project focussed on commercializing a new variety of oats that will allow for expanded commercial production and new health products, the company will be looking to Alberta farmers to grow and harvest these new oat crops. “Until now, we’ve been buying quantities that are small by farm standards. Now we’ll need to hire contract growers and the spin-off for this new, high value crop could be huge for farmers.

Our value-added approach will mean we can give farmers a better return than commodity prices. Farmers will be happy, we’re happy to have a reliable source of oats, and people around the world get access to products that will improve their health and wellness.”

Branko Jankovic Chief Financial Officer Ceapro Inc.

Alberta is taking a number of actions to open the doors to markets across Canada and around the world, including:• Leading the Canadian Energy Strategy to develop our resources and move them to market – creating a true global energy superpower.• Supporting the proposed Energy East pipeline to Quebec and New Brunswick, that will get Alberta crude to market at higher world prices.• Supporting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline expansion to the United States, that will get more of our oil to refineries on the U.S. gulf coast at a fairer price.• Building relationships in the fast-growing markets of Asia and other parts of the world.• Putting new rules in place to ensure that resource development is responsible and sustainable.• Identifying 1.5 million hectares as protected areas in the province’s northeast will balance industrial development and conserve our natural heritage while providing new recreation opportunities for Albertans.

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