Stelmach drops budget hints during speech

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach hinted during a speech Thursday night that Grande Prairie will be getting a new hospital.

Hosting his first premier's dinner, Stelmach said he plans to fast-track the replacement of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the growing northern Alberta city with funding that will be announced next week in the provincial budget.

"I'm pleased to tell you that this project will begin this year. We'll be making a formal announcement next week," said Stelmach during the dinner, which was held in Edmonton.

Stelmach said the province is dealing with double-digit growth hikes virtually across the board, leading to job and housing shortages and concerns about quality of life.

"We need stable funding for municipalities, for capital projects, and we need to provide for the maintenance of public infrastructure," he said."Next week's budget will address those issues in a responsible and decisive manner."

Mixed reaction on Stelmach's performance

Stelmach spoke to an audience of 1,600 rank-and-file party members, almost four months since he was sworn into office.

St. Albert resident Patty Whiting fully approves of how he has been doing his job so far.

"I wanted them to start looking at studying some of the problems and addressing some of the employment issues, the pressure issues, the super-heated economy and things like that and I think they're doing a good job of that absolutely."

But is there too much studying and not enough doing?

Tory party member Alan Conkin hopes all this consultation will lead to something tangible.

"Task forces are OK, if they actually come out with some results. A lot of them do a lot of planning, a lot of talking and a lot of whatever they do. But if they don't put some effort into the execution of their events or the recommendations, it really isn't going to mean much."

University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young believes Albertans may be looking for more.

"These aren't changes to the taxes that they pay, these aren't new schools opening in their neighbourhoods, these aren't hospitals being built," she said. "These aren't the kinds of things that capture the public's attention."

Young says most governments with new leadership try to lay out a specific agenda when they get started and her impression is that the public is still wondering what that agenda is.