Alberta to get $700 million in infrastructure cash within 'weeks to months'

Alberta will getnearly $700 million in infrastructure money "immediately"to spur a flagging economy flattenedby low energy prices.

The federal and Albertagovernments made the announcement after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Premier Rachel Notleyin Edmonton on Wednesday.

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The money from the Building Canada Fundwas announced in late 2014 by the previous federal governmentbut never made it to the province.

The prime minister said the funding can be "allocated immediately to projects that will help Alberta's economy, help Albertans get to work and, indeed, contribute to the growing of our nation's economy."

Notley said both governments have been discussing what projects can go ahead and how the money can get to Alberta faster. The Alberta government announced in last fall's budget an ambitious plan to spend $34 billion in capital projects over the next five years.

"We, today, were able to confirm that the federal government will start pushing it out the door as soon as we're ready to go," she said."So we really are talking a matter of months, weeks to months. Very soon."

'We've lost a lot of revenue'

The federalgovernment also plans to grant the$250 million requested by Alberta under the fiscalstabilizationfund to make up for the financial impact of low oil prices on the treasury.

"We've lost a lot of revenue," Notley said. "So we need to try and find other sources and this is one."

Notley said she also discussed changes to the employment insurance program. Benefits are tied to the unemployment rate of a region. Due to historically low unemploymentrates,Albertans mustwork more insured hours to qualify for benefits and theyget paid for fewer weeks than dopeople in other parts of Canada. Trudeau said hisgovernment plans to work quickly to changethose guidelines.

"This is something that the premier emphasized in our meeting and I assured her that we are looking at this and working to move forward on it as rapidly as possible," Trudeau said.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohisaid $10 billion in new infrastructure money earmarked for the next two yearswill be allocated following the budget.

Meanwhile, the government is working with all provinces on fast-tracking cashbut he said some didn't get the funds they were entitled to.

"Some provinces got their share of the money, some provinces didn't get their share of the money," Sohi said. "In the case of Alberta, that money was withheld."

Wednesday's meeting wasthe first between a Canadian prime minister and an Alberta premierin Edmonton since 2005, whenPaul Martin met with Ralph Klein.

Notley walked down the steps of the Alberta legislature to greet Trudeau as he emerged from his car. The two leaders hugged and walked into the legislature together.

Notley and Trudeau briefly posed for photos before starting their hour-long meeting. They hosteda half-hour media availability starting at about 5:15 p.m. MT.

After the news conference, Trudeau and Notley toured an Edmontontraining facility run by the International Brotherhood of ElectricialWorkers.

Premier Rachel Notley greets the PM

9 years ago

Duration 0:23

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived at the Alberta legislature to meet with Premier Notley

Notley and the prime minister also discussed climate change and ways to get Alberta oil to world markets.

On Tuesday, Notley signalledthat she intended to tell Trudeau how Alberta hasn't needed help for for awhile.

"We have truly been a fundamental part of the Canadian economy, doing some very heavy liftingfor a very long time ... but we need the support of our colleagues across the country in the next short while."

The province's oil sector is also looking for strong signals thatTrudeau is serious about helping deliver its commodityto tidewater.

Mark Scholz, president of the Canadian Association of OilwellDrilling Contractors, said federal support on the contentious issueof building pipelines is crucial.

He warned if the industry can't get its product to market,Alberta businesses would fail.

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau declined Tuesday to answerseveral questions about whether Ottawa would provide targetedassistance for Alberta.

Instead, Morneau said the federal government's upcoming budgetwill include spending plans to invest in Canada's entire economy,which he argued will help struggling provinces such as Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Alberta.

The prime ministeristravelling to Calgary on Thursday where he, Notley and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr will take part in a roundtablewith oil and gas producers and oil and gas service providers.

This is Trudeau's first visit to Alberta asprime minister. He and Notley met at the provincial legislature in June, during avisit to Edmonton and Calgary before the Oct. 19 federal election.

Notley joined the prime minister as part of the Canadian delegation that attended the Paris climate change talks in late November.