A number of provincial initiatives promised by the NDP government may be delayed due to the continued low price of oil, according to Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci.
“We have to be conscious, and we are cognizant of what the economy is doing right now,” he said. “(That means) going slower on some of those commitments.”
Though specific projects have yet to be pinpointed by the government, initiatives could include child-care benefits, health care initiatives and reductions in school fees.
“I can’t put my finger on them today. I don’t know what they are today,” Ceci said. “It’s something that cabinet is going to be focused on. It’s something that we want to make a decision on together.”
The 2016 budget, announced Oct. 27, 2015, forecasted the Province running four consecutive deficits in order to “stabilize frontline public services” like health care and education. As part of the budget, some projects the government promised included a $45 million annual investment to reduce school fees and $120 million over two years for new long-term care spaces.
Ceci said programs that will go forward as planned in the 2016/17 fiscal year included the Job Creation Incentive Program – which provides grants to employers who create new jobs – and the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP), which was axed by the former Progressive Conservative government in 2013.
The STEP program will allocate $10 million per year for wage subsidies for student positions.
Ceci said delaying a number of provincial projects while keeping STEP and the Job Creation Incentive Program on schedule was done with a focus on job creation.
“They’re focused directly on job creation in these difficult times. The other programs, we’ll take a slower look of implementing them,” he said.
But Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Wildrose MLA Nathan Cooper said it was a positive thing the initiatives were delayed.
“In the area of overspending, if (the price of oil) causes the government to look at every dollar being spent, (that’s something) the opposition has been encouraging them to do anyway,” he said.
