Speech from the Throne
The Third Session of the 27th Legislature gets under way today. Members and guests will hear the Speech from the Throne delivered at 3 p.m. by His Honour the Honourable Norman L. Kwong, CM, AOE, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. The speech opens each new session and outlines initiatives and law-making plans for the session.
Read the speech
Read the news release
Bill 1 strikes partnership to make
Highlights of the 2010 Speech from the Throne
The following are highlights of initiatives laid out in the February 2010 Speech from the Throne.
Alberta’s Fiscal Advantage
Use our carefully planned fiscal advantages, including low taxes and the nearly $25 billion that was saved and invested during good times, to position Alberta for a strong recovery.
Keep using the Sustainability Fund to protect municipalities, social programs, educational institutions and the health care system.
Continue to strengthen infrastructure in all regions of the province.
Introduce Alberta Capital Bonds with proceeds directed to building seniors’ accommodations.
Carefully manage government spending, with a focus on key priorities such as health, education and supports for vulnerable Albertans.
Improving Health Care
Act on the recommendations of the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health to make the publicly funded health system more patient-focused.
Create a new Alberta Health Act.
Engage Albertans in the on-going evolution of the health system.
Provide stable, five-year funding to Alberta Health Services.
Focus on better performance in key areas such as wait times and access.
Seek input from, and be accountable to, Albertans on whether the health system is performing to their expectations.
Building Safe, Caring Communities
Address gang crime through the Alberta Gang Reduction Strategy.
Table witness protection legislation.
Bolster the front lines of Alberta police forces with 100 new officers.
Meet government’s goal of creating 14,000 new child care spaces.
Work with partners to develop 11,000 affordable housing units by 2012, and act on the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness.
Better integrate social programs to improve service to clients.
Continue to advocate for reforms to the retirement income system, and if necessary, join with BC and Saskatchewan to develop options for a regional retirement income plan.
Increasingly Competitive in a Global Economy
Launch a new vision for education.
Strengthen the province’s research and innovation system.
Ensure that the workforce has the right skills to keep Alberta strong.
Continue to work with the federal government to expand direct air access between Alberta and its key markets.
Invest in new transportation infrastructure to support economic growth in the North.
Work toward a Western Economic Partnership with BC and Saskatchewan to create Canada’s largest boundary-free trade and investment market.
Work with BC and Saskatchewan on a joint trade mission to China and Japan.
Ensure that government regulation is both clear and practical.
Complete the review of the First Nations Consultation Policy and Guidelines on Land Management and Resource Development.
Increase Alberta’s competitive edge in agriculture and agri-food by fostering value-added opportunities and increasing access to important international markets.
Ensure the energy industry continues to attract investment and create new technologies.
Ensure that Alberta is an attractive place to do business, guided by the findings of the competitiveness review.
Introduce Bill 1, the Alberta Competitiveness Act, to signal government’s resolve to make Alberta the most competitive jurisdiction in North America.
Continue to work on a world-class, integrated petrochemical hub, drawing on the raw materials from the oil sands and accelerated by the bitumen royalty-in-kind policy, to add value to Alberta’s resources in Alberta.
A Clean Energy Future
Continue the fight against the mountain pine beetle.
Work with Ottawa to reach a continental approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
Develop new opportunities to participate in markets like China and India, while securing access to the emerging clean energy market in the U.S.
Continue to promote Alberta and the technological advances Alberta industries have made in environmental management, such as their work on carbon capture and storage.
Continue to invest in research and technology solutions to environmental challenges posed by oil sands development, including the eventual elimination of tailings ponds.
Alberta’s Place in Canada
Seek fair treatment for Albertans under universal federal programs.
Use expert advice from the Premier’s Council on Economic Strategy to set a path to a secure and prosperous future for Albertans.
Share Alberta’s story at the Olympics, and elsewhere on the global stage, to promote our province.
Continue to build world-class universities of the 21st century.
