The Alberta NDP hosted an Alberta Budget Town Hall at the Red Deer Public Library on Thursday, September 19th. The party wants to take into account the concerns of the general public before they prepare their shadow budget to counter the UCP’s fall budget which is expected at the end of October.

The Red Deer’s town hall was hosted by Advanced Education Critic, and former Education Minister David Eggen, NDP MLA’s Lori Sigurdson, Lorne Dach, Chris Nielsen, and David Shepherd.

“We know Albertans are very concerned about budget cuts both for themselves and for their families and so we are providing an opportunity for people to voice what’s important to them and for them for the budget coming up in the fall,” said David Eggen.

Eggen says that the general response from the public has been positive and encouraging throughout his tour of Alberta.

During the event, a number of issues were brought up by the public including Red Deer’s hospital expansion, transsexual health rights, education funding, small business funding, tax cuts, and many other topics of concern.

Josh McLean, an attendee of the town hall is concerned about the current spending and tax cuts of the UCP government.

“I am very worried about what the United Conservative government is going to do we’ve already seen that classes are being held in hallways in some schools in Calgary. A lot of people in the healthcare industry are very worried about what’s going to happen. So, I am very concerned and I wanted to make sure that regular workers voices are heard and not just Jason Kenney’s rich friends.”

The NDP MLA’s plan to hold the UCP accountable heading forward and hope to enforce Alberta’s best interest as the fall budget is created.

“We are here to ensure that your voice is heard. We are here in the legislature and outside to ensure that you and your family are protected with law enforcement, with hospital investments, and new schools in Central Alberta. In Central Alberta, we have a young population and we have to be optimistic. We can’t just make cuts on the back of kids, on the back of families, for the sake of big corporate tax cuts,” explained Eggen.

The NDP will hold six town halls across Alberta in the following locations: Red Deer, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, and Calgary. So far, town halls have been held in Edmonton, Grande Prairie, and Red Deer.