While Premier Alison Redford could not confirm whether Grande Prairie’s major infrastructure projects were safe in the upcoming budget, she did say the government is committed to infrastructure projects in the Swan City.

“We’re committed to investing in infrastructure – the schools, the hospitals – to make sure that communities like Grande Prairie are able to continue to grow and thrive,” said the premier during a brief media conference Wednesday.

Redford joined Grande Prairie-Smoky MLA Everett McDonald and Infrastructure Minister Wayne Drysdale Wednesday in Grande Prairie to take a ‘coffee break’ around the area and to give notice to the Growing The North conference, which wraps up today.

Redford says while times have been tough, entering the open market and using public-private-partnerships will help ease burdening infrastructure costs in the future.

“Our infrastructure plan is in place and we’re committed to make sure that the schools and hospitals are in place for communities and we’re pretty excited about it,” said Redford.

As she has repeated vehemently in past, Redford says the provincial government will not raise taxes.

“I’ve been very clear that the decisions we are going to make are tough, but we’re not going to make across the board cuts,” said Redford.

The provincial government has been the victim of what has been dubbed a ‘bitumen bubble,’ a big difference in the price for oil in North America and bitumen produced in Alberta’s oilsands. The province is looking at a $6 billion loss in resource revenue as a result of this issue.

Solutions such as the proposed Enbridge pipeline, which would run from the Edmonton area, north, then to Kitimat, B.C. would allow Alberta oil to access the open market, but resistance and a drawn-out timeline has caused the provincial government to look elsewhere.

Redford also recently met with New Brunswick Premier David Alward to discuss the possibility of a pipeline to the east coast of Canada to relieve Alberta of its landlocked oil.

“The work that we are doing on the eastward pipeline is going great,” said Redford. “We’re thinking smart, think thoughtfully we’re making sure that we’re sharing our experience and that’s going to be good for us.”

With Grande Prairie area school boards struggling to find space for the large number of children and some even considering leasing commercial space for students, Redford says those concerns will be addressed in the near future.

“We’ve made a commitment already in the last election to build 50 new schools and refurbish 75,” said Redford. “Our infrastructure plans are moving ahead.”

Redford says a process undertaken between school boards and the government lays out priority areas for schools. She adds that Grande Prairie and other booming cities are the priority.

“Obviously, growing communities are on the priority list,” said Redford. “We want to make sure there are enough schools in communities so people are attracted to those communities for quality of life.”

As for the Growing the North conference, Redford says it is a true opportunity to come together and promote Northern Alberta.

“We very often tend to think in terms of Grande Prairie, frankly, in many ways, being the northern boundary of a lot of economic growth, but we know that there are places all the way from here to Fort McMurray – places like Manning where there’s incredible economic development happening and economic diversification.”

Redford says the economic issues now facing the province can be turned into an opportunity for education.

“This is something that gives us an opportunity to understand better how our economy works to make sure that we are deciding what our priorities are and to move through this,” said Redford. “The sky is not falling.”

Finance Minister Doug Horner announced Tuesday that the deficit currently lies between $3.5 and $4 billion.

The province’s budget is scheduled to be released March 7.

Adam.jackson@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @DHTAdam