Dave Hancock

Alberta takes care of Edmonton's most vulnerable people

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:59:53 -0700

A number of recent announcements over the past month have affirmed the Government of Alberta's commitment to caring for Edmonton's most vulnerable people. These projects represent big steps in developing wraparound services in schools, expanding relationships between government agencies and the non-profit/voluntary sector, and bolstering community safety by preventing and reducing crime.

In response to the local needs of Edmonton's communities, these projects integrate education, health, policing and other community support services to help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to make a positive contribution and lead a dignified and meaningful life.

Construction proceeding on ten new schools

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:00:30 -0700

Today, Minister Hancock and Minister of Infrastructure Ray Danyluk announced that construction will soon begin on ten new schools in Edmonton and the Calgary region. Three will be constructed in high growth areas in Edmonton, five in Calgary, and one each in Okotoks and Langdon. All of the schools will open to students in September 2012.

Question Period: School Construction in Airdrie-Chestermere

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:51:40 -0700

Mr. Anderson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Rocky View school division and especially the city of Airdrie are at a crisis point with regard to school infrastructure. Airdrie students are holding math classes in the library, the gym, and in some instances in the hallways. Trustees are even considering busing kids into soon-to-beclosed inner-city Calgary schools. The division is now begging for $5 million for 20 new portables to make a secondary temporary portable school in Airdrie. To the Education minister: would you please reallocate just one of the 32 newly announced P3 schools to Airdrie, the fastest growing city in the province?

Mr. Hancock: Mr. Speaker, with respect to the ASAP program, that's a process that takes a significant amount of time to put together. It is at its final stages, and announcements will be made soon. The school division that the hon. member has referred to has a school in that project. Their top priority school is going to be built at Langdon, as they asked.

Question Period: Special Education Review

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:31:45 -0700

Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. After engaging over 7,000 Albertans, the Setting the Direction for Special Education final report was submitted to the minister over 10 months ago, yet we still have not heard any response from the government. To the Minister of Education: is the delay in the government response an indication that you're backing away from a commitment to a truly supportive and inclusive education system that Albertans obviously demonstrated they wanted?

Mr. Hancock: No, Mr. Speaker. I can understand the hon. member's frustration in that he chaired the task force and did an excellent job with the stakeholders in getting that report. But I would also say that it does take time to get policy approval and to put implementation plans in place. We're working very, very strongly interdepartmentally to make sure that Health, Children and Youth Services, and Education work together. This is a major shift in philosophy, from a diagnostic model to a learning-based model, and we need to take the time to do it right.

Question Period: School Closures

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:19:01 -0700

Mr. Mason: Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. Parkdale, McCauley, Eastwood, Fulton Place, and Capilano schools are five schools that are on the chopping block tonight. At the same time, the Edmonton public school board is not getting any new resources to support the six schools that they are opening this September. The government is forcing school boards to shift resources from older schools to new ones. I want to ask the Minister of Education why he is forcing school boards to choose winners and losers when the families pay the price.

Mr. Hancock: Well, Mr. Speaker, nobody is forcing anyone to choose winners and losers. What school boards do is make sure that they provide the best possible educational opportunities for all the students they serve within the resources that are available. It's totally wrong to say that there are no new resources for new schools as much as it's totally wrong to say that the closing of older schools that have lost their student populations is simply a money issue. It's about educational programming, and school boards are in the best position to determine how they can best provide educational programming for their students.

School Closures: An Open and Shut Discussion?

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:38:19 -0700

Several school boards around Alberta are presently considering closing schools. As Minister of Education, I have been asked by several parties to place a moratorium on school closures, for a variety of reasons. Some people suggest that the processes used to discuss school closures are flawed. Others say that a high-quality educational program requires schools in the communities where children live, whether rural or urban. And others point out that schools should be a place not just for educational programs, but for ancillary services that support student success and foster community.

While I fully appreciate these concerns, I will not be placing a moratorium on school closures. Under Alberta's School Act, these deliberations are quite properly the responsibility of local school boards, which are elected specifically to ensure that local needs and interests are addressed when educational decisions are made. It makes no sense to empower local boards with this authority, and then to second guess them each time they make a difficult decision.

Final set of traffic lights to be removed from SW Henday

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:00:31 -0700

Edmonton Whitemud residents who use the Anthony Henday to get around the city can look forward to free-flowing traffic on the southwest leg by the fall of 2011. Yesterday, the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada announced that construction will begin later this year on the interchange at Cameron Heights Drive.

Question Period: School Closures

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:07:56 -0700

Ms DeLong: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Education has spoken publicly in this Legislature of the importance of having community services integrated in schools and schools being integrated into the community, yet schools are still being closed in the inner city. The school boards are saying that it's the province that's pressuring them to close. My question is to the Minister of Education. What Alberta Department of Education legislation or regulations are contributing to schools in the inner city being closed?

Question Period: School Utilization Formula

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:43:47 -0700

Mr. MacDonald: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Early in May officials from Alberta Education will present to school board chairpersons and school superintendents the province's new provincial school utilization rate. These changes are a very long time in coming, and I would like to thank the hon. Minister of Education for coming forward with these new provincial utilization rates. [some applause] It's certainly about time. Now, my first question is to the Minister of Education. How will the new provincial utilization rates work for public schools located in maturing neighbourhoods? These schools were built 50 to 60 years ago.

Question Period: School Construction and Renovation

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:39:17 -0700

Mr. Benito: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Minister of Education. There is a large backlog in deferred maintenance of schools, and with classroom space becoming critical in some areas of the province, what is the minister planning to do to address the student space issue and the maintenance backlog when there are no new projects in the 2010-11 budget?

Question Period: School Closures

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:10:17 -0700

Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Waves of potential school closures are washing over communities in Edmonton and Calgary, but this government is looking the other way, claiming that the decisions are for the school boards to make. The truth is that, yes, city core neighbourhoods are losing students to the suburbs, but provincial policies are making the situation worse. To the minister: how are municipalities supposed to keep families in the city core when this government has a utilization policy that pushes schools out of these neighbourhoods?

Question Period: School Closures

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:37:16 -0700

Dr. Swann: Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Government utilization policy is forcing school boards to drain the city core of schools in favour of the suburbs. At the same time, cities like Edmonton and Calgary, in keeping with the government's own land-use framework, are trying to reduce urban sprawl and revitalize their cores, which is hard to do without good schools to attract people to the core. To the Premier: will the Premier commit to an expeditious review of these contradictory education and municipal policies before real damage is done to core neighbourhoods in Calgary and Edmonton?

Highway construction keeps Edmonton-Whitemud residents moving

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:28:10 -0700

As part of Budget 2010, the Government of Alberta is investing $1.9 billion to develop the provincial highway network. Edmontonians, and particularly residents of Edmonton-Whitemud, will benefit from a number of provincially funded road projects.

Question Period: School Closures

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:41:10 -0700

Mr. Bhardwaj: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have heard many of my constituents tell me that if you close down a school, you damage the community. Well, there have been lots of rumours about school closures, not just in the teachers' lounges but right here in the Legislature. My question is to the Minister of Education. What are you doing to keep schools open and keep Alberta's communities from further damage?

Question Period: School Closures

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:02:27 -0700

Mr. MacDonald: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since 2002 15 public schools in the Edmonton public school division have been closed, resulting in 6,900 student spaces disappearing from central Edmonton neighbourhoods. My first question is to the Premier. Given that Alberta Education and the government project that we are going to have 80,000 more students in the system in the next 15 years than we presently have, does the government not think that these school spaces that are closed and the proposed plans to close additional ones will be counter to the government's strategic plan?