By Curtis Galbraith

Provincial Politics

New hospital completion, auto insurance review among items to come in 2020 says local MLA

Jan 2, 2020 | 5:30 AM

GP-Wapiti MLA and Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews says the government is hoping the new Grande Prairie hospital will be finished in the second half of this year.

“The projection is that hospital will be completed in Q3 of 2020, August-September of 2020. We trust that will be the case. I know that we have an Infrastructure Minister (Prasad Panda) that is following that project very closely. I’ve understood there is a commissioning process that will take place, so it likely won’t be open until 2021.”

As for a new hospital for Beaverlodge, Toews says he is working with the Town and County of Grande Prairie on this project.

“We need to ensure that we have a synergistic business case for a new health care facility in Beaverlodge that will work on a complimentary basis with the new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital.”

Meantime, the provincial government will be looking at auto insurance rates in 2020.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Toews says he is looking forward to the recommendations that come from a review panel he formed in December.

“Our government inherited a very challenged automobile insurance sector. The previous government put a rate cap on it, which really was a band-aid solution on what I would term a ‘festering wound’. They didn’t deal with the underlying problems that were pushing up (the) costs of offering up insurance to Albertans.”

Toews says more complex vehicles, litigation with personal injury claims, and weather events like forest fires, floods, and hail storms have all pushed up the cost of insurance.

He adds the hope is that Albertans will be able to get what he describes as “cost-effective insurance” and that the system will be “sustainable.”