Send this page to someone via email

Alberta’s education minister made an announcement at a Calgary high school today, and it’s not sitting well with the official opposition.

David Eggen told a press conference that the NDP government remains committed to continue to fund education.

Eggen said difficult economic times should have no impact on the resources that are available to students.

“We’ve made a point to make sure that we are funding education throughout economic good times, mediocre times and challenging times.”

Last week the government released another $51 million as a part of their allocation of $161 million being restored into education for kindergarten to Grade 12 students across the province.

The Wildrose criticized Eggen for re-announcing what the government had already done in the midst of a Calgary byelection campaign.

Story continues below advertisement

“The NDP government keep going further and further down the rabbit hole of questionable byelection ethics,” Jason Nixon, Wildrose’s democracy and accountability critic, said. “Albertans deserve better than these cynical, campaign-style announcements with government resources.”

Nixon is referring to a comment the NDP made about the former Conservative government when they made a similar type of announcement during an election.

The announcement had to do with long-term care for seniors, and David Eggen, in his role as NDP critic said, “This (announcement) is a campaign stunt more than anything substantive, and they (the PCs) should be ashamed of themselves.”