Reeve Murray Kerik has formally submitted a letter to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on behalf of MD Council, criticizing the Province’s recently-unveiled draft budget for what Council perceives as a clear urban bias, and a severe neglect of rural infrastructure.

Reeve Kerik’s letter, which has been widely circulated among rural municipalities and media channels, alleges that the budget's allocation of funds disproportionately favors major urban centers, leaving rural communities to grapple with crumbling infrastructure and dwindling resources. His message echoes the sentiments of Lesser Slave Lake MLA Scott Sinclair, who denounced the draft provincial budget in his March 1 Facebook post. 

Key points of contention outlined Reeve Kerik’s letter include:

• Disparity in Infrastructure Funding:
  • The budget's focus on large-scale urban projects comes at the expense of essential rural infrastructure maintenance and upgrades.
  • The letter highlights the critical role of rural infrastructure in supporting the province's forestry and energy sectors, which are vital to the overall economy.
• Economic Impact:
  • The neglect of rural infrastructure will have significant economic consequences, hindering the growth of heavy industry and discouraging investment.
• Fairness and Equity:
  • The letter calls on the Province to prioritize a policy framework that better aligns a given region’s infrastructure needs with its contributions to Alberta’s GDP.

In his closing remarks, Reeve Kerik states to Premier Smith that "this is not merely the opinion of one local government; this is also the stance of our municipal neighbours, and the sentiment of rural Albertans at large." 

Reeve Kerik’s letter underscores the stark imbalance in the Province's resource distribution, highlighting the persistent struggle of rural municipalities to maintain essential infrastructure. Read the full text of his letter below.

March 4, 2025

Honourable Danielle Smith
Premier of Alberta
Office of the Premier, Executive Branch
307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6

RE: COUNCIL SUPPORT FOR MLA SCOTT SINCLAIR’S REBUKE OF BUDGET 2025

Dear Premier Smith:

I am writing to express our Council's profound disappointment upon review of the draft provincial budget. With billions in allocations toward event spaces, recreation projects and LRT expansions in Calgary and Edmonton, Budget 2025 is certainly a boon for urban centres. However, it fails Albertans on many levels. Where Council is concerned: it fails to recognize the economic output of rural Alberta, while further compounding the challenges of local governments such as ours to manage the continued decline of our road and bridge infrastructure.  

We stand firmly behind MLA Scott Sinclair's rebuke of the Province’s biased and ill-conceived budget. In particular, we echo his sentiment that “the continuous flow of our GDP to urban centers while rural Alberta—the backbone of this province—gets left behind is appalling.”

As you are likely aware, two of Alberta’s major economic drivers can be found within our borders: energy and forestry. In 2024, our heavy industry players contributed more than $1.6 billion to the Province’s GDP; specifically: 

• Forestry Stumpage: $157,000,000.00 
• Oil & Gas royalties: $1,489,230,112.00 

The heavy industry players operating in our municipality are inordinately high contributors to Alberta’s economy. These players rely on two provincial corridors (Highway 2 and Highway 88) in addition to aging bridge infrastructure that has been downloaded onto our municipality. The continued neglect of these deficient and decayed corridors will severely impact the present output and future growth of these operators for years—if not indefinitely.

I note that Budget 2025 projects a $5.2-billion shortfall for the fiscal year starting April 1 followed by further deficits of $2.4 billion and $2 billion to come in the following two years. Given this approaching cloud of austerity, I suspect I am not alone in wondering why a community gathering space in Edmonton has been deemed more important than a provincial highway that facilitates the safe transport of two hundred thousand barrels of Alberta oil to market each and every day.

I could go on at length about the ordinary citizens who end up in the ditch, the hospital, or the morgue, due to the condition of our provincial highways. However, I will remain focused on the stark disparity between industry output and resource allocation in our municipality, as this provides the most succinct and compelling argument for a more equitable draft of the provincial budget.  

My fellow Councillors and I stand with MLA Sinclair in his push for a budget that invests equitably in rural Alberta. This sentiment is further supported by our primary producers including Tolko, West Fraser, Vanderwell, Kingston Midstream, Plains Pipeline, Pembina Pipeline, and Canadian Natural Resources, not to mention countless regional support businesses.

Premier Smith, I urge you to consider my message. Please take a good, hard look at the draft budget before it’s passed. Moving beyond Budget 2025: the Government of Alberta’s budget must prioritize a policy framework that better aligns a given region’s infrastructure needs with its contributions to Alberta’s GDP. Note that this is not merely the opinion of one local government; this is also the stance of our municipal neighbours, and the sentiment of rural Albertans at large.

I thank you in advance for passing a budget that reflects the economic contributions—and requisite infrastructure needs—of our northern region. 

Sincerely,

Murray Kerik
Reeve, Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124
On behalf of Lesser Slave River Council

CC:

Hon. Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors
Rob Anderson, Executive Director of the Office of the Premier
Scott Sinclair, MLA for Lesser Slave Lake
Tracy Holland, Reeve of Athabasca County
Tyler Airth, Reeve of Big Lakes County
Marcel D. Auger, Reeve of the MD of Opportunity
Jennifer Churchill, Executive Director of the Alberta North Central Alliance (ANCA)