How should Alberta spend its 30-year-old $16-billion Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund?
That's the question the government is asking Albertans to answer at a public meeting on Oct. 3.
“It is important that Albertans take the time to be part of conversations affecting Alberta’s financial future,” Dave Quest, MLA for Strathcona-Sherwood Park and chair of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, said in a statement.
“At the upcoming public meeting we’ll be seeking direction from participants as to what the next generation of the Heritage Fund should look like.”
The province is seeking answers to questions like ‘what should the fund be used for in the future?’ and ‘how should we contribute to the fund?’
The meeting takes place at The Oasis Centre 10930 – 177 Street on Oct 3. at 7 p.m.
The meeting will be broadcast online at www.assembly.ab.ca as well.
Those who can’t attend are also asked to provide feedback through an online questionnaire.
The Heritage Fund earned a net income of $798 million for the year ending March 31, 2012.
The net assets held in the fund total $16.1 billion, nearly $800 million higher than the previous year.
The fund was established in 1976 as a nest egg to help future Albertans.
In the past, the trust fund has been used to develop parks, improve libraries, and maintain the province's forests. It's also been used for projects like the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund, Alberta Children's Provincial General Hospital in Calgary, the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Services Centre in Edmonton, and more.
The fund has also been used to help Alberta's health care and education systems and assist in debt elimination and tax reductions.
