By Juliet Kadzviti

Budget top issue for P.A. MLAs during first session of legislature

Jul 4, 2016 | 7:33 AM

Prince Albert’s first-time MLAs came away from their first legislative sessions with vastly different interpretations of the state of the province.

With spring session finishing Thursday, June 30, Joe Hargrave, SaskParty MLA for Prince Albert Carlton, and Nicole Rancourt, NDP MLA for Prince Albert Northcote, agreed the provincial budget was the most important debate from the last 26 days, but didn’t agree how well these discussions went.

Hargrave said his first session was ‘great’, although described budget discussions a challenge due to the $434 million projected deficit.

“For Prince Albert, basically, as far as budgetary concerns go, it was pretty much awash there. There was an increase in municipal funding and a little bit less on the park maintenance but, generally, considering the shortfall of revenues, it was a pretty good budget for Prince Albert,” he said.

He acknowledged he wanted to see more funds come to P.A. in the future, but added the SaskParty is on course to keep the promises it made during the provincial election.

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“We campaigned with very few promises, and we are going to live up to those promises. By the time the next session rolls around, I’m even better equipped to have an even louder voice…for Prince Albert,” he said.

Rancourt said voters may have not been ready for the provincial budget as it failed to live up to expectations – especially for Prince Albert residents.

“I was disappointed to see that we were losing money with regards to our park funding, and that there would be less funding for health and education. They are having to make some really tough decisions,” she said.

She said she would have liked to see financial solutions to address overcrowding and wait times at the Victoria Hospital. The provincial government should be aware P.A. is the ‘hub’ of the North, and its services can often be overwhelmed.

“…We want to promote that (use of services), but then we need to have more support from the provincial government so that we can continue to provide services for people in Prince Albert and area and northern communities,” she said.

The fall session will begin on October 19.

-with files Spencer Sterritt and Nigel Maxwell

jkadzviti@panow.com

On Twitter: @julietkadzviti