Alberta’s agricultural societies will receive the money earmarked in the provincial budget without any reduction in the amount, the provincial government says.
In an e-mail today, Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier said the government has decided not to reduce funds for agricultural societies so the money will be disbursed soon.
“Our government has been in the process of assessing the current budget to find savings in order to fairly and responsibly reduce the deficit. As part of this, we assessed the current funding levels for agricultural societies,” Carlier said in the email.
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“We know and understand the good work that these organizations do in small towns and rural communities across the province, and how they make life better for rural Albertans.”
As of last week, agricultural societies had not received funds that are usually dispersed in June or early July. The Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies informed its members Sept. 11 that the government had signalled that a reduction in funds was pending.
By that time the agricultural societies had gone ahead with their various events and programs and some volunteer members had used their own money to tide things over, according to AAAS chief executive officer Tim Carson.
As of Sept. 25, Carlier said no decisions had been made on the matter of funding but the announcement came two days later.
The United Conservative Party urged the government in several news releases to provide the funds as indicated in the March provincial budget.
barb.glen@producer.com
