Airdrie MLA Rob Anderson said Bill 11, the Savings Management Repeal Act, which eliminates endowment accounts established under the Redford government in March, is a good thing for Alberta.
“When Bill 1 (which established the endowment accounts) came forward the Wildrose was opposed because it was turning part of our Heritage Fund into a slush fund,” Anderson said. “I’m happy to see it’s been repealed. That’s a good move.”
Bill 1 established the Social Innovation Endowment account, the Agriculture and Food Innovation Endowment account and the Alberta Future Fund, which were all funded from the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund at a cost of $2 billion.
The Social Innovation Endowment account was meant to “help pilot and expand the use of promising social innovations” and the Agriculture and Food Innovation account was meant to “enhance funding for basic and applied agriculture research in Alberta,” according to the government’s website.
The Future Fund was meant to “enable government to respond to emerging opportunities of strategic nature that could benefit all Albertans.”
Bill 11, which was introduced on Dec. 3 eliminates the two endowment accounts and the Future Fund and the $2 billion allocated for the three accounts will remain in the Heritage Fund.
“Our government is committed to being fiscally prudent and to make the tough decisions necessary in an environment of low oil prices,” Minister of Finance Robin Campbell said in a press release. “This includes ensuring our savings are only used to meet Albertans’ highest priorities and our finances are easy to understand and fully transparent.”
When Bill 1 was introduced, the government touted the bill as “putting our savings to work” but Anderson said in light of falling oil prices, those savings will have to wait.
“Hopefully this is just a blip for three or four months,” he said, “because the actions of the previous premier have put us in a tough spot as a province and now we have to dig ourselves out.”
