Premier Jim Prentice visited Chestermere’s Lakeside Golf Course on Feb. 14, in an effort to meet with Albertans and find out how they feel about the upcoming budget announcement.
“We’ve been riding a roller-coaster here in Alberta, and people are tired of it,” Prentice said. “All over the province, people are saying they want a plan, so we’ve put together a long-term financial plan to try and protect our core services.”
According to Prentice, public services in Alberta, including education and health care, have historically been the best in the country – and the most expensive. Combined with Alberta’s low tax rates, said Prentice, the current financial model is “broken.”
With that in mind, Prentice made dramatic changes to the entire budget process two weeks after being elected. A new Cabinet committee of six ministers, chaired by Prentice with the Minister of Finance at his side, was instructed to prepare a brand new ten-year plan for the province, broken up into two five-year sections.
“Nothing has been made public yet, as we are still working through the specifics,” Prentice said. “This is the time for people to speak up, because once we put this plan in place, things will be tied down and we will all have to live with the consequences.”
Prentice has been outspoken about not favouring a provincial sales tax, and said the majority of Albertans have expressed their agreement. However, according to Prentice, unless changes are made to the budget, the Province could burn through our savings and start running up debt within the next three years.
The recent drop in oil prices will have a long-standing impact on the province, as Prentice said he doesn’t anticipate rates rising again anytime soon. Since the province has become very dependent on these revenues to balance the budget, Alberta is looking at a $7.5 billion deficit next year – if no changes are made.
“That’s not going to happen as long as I am the Premier,” Prentice said. “I think this will be the most difficult time we’ve had in Alberta in a generation, in terms of our public finances, but I think our economy is more resilient and diversified than people give us credit for.”
Prentice said he has divided that deficit into thirds – one third will still be run as a deficit, but one third will be balanced with revenue increases and the other third will be accommodated by “reducing the size of the government.”
He added that the province will not, however, stop building social capital. Schools scheduled for construction throughout the county, including two new kindergarten to Grade 8 schools in Cochrane’s Sunset Ridge and Fireside neighbourhoods, will proceed as planned, and roads will be maintained.
According to Prentice, money that was allocated to communities through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) will still be made available – although he admitted that the province has been collectively “living beyond our means.”
“We are mindful that commitments were made to municipalities about the level of funding, and we have to deal with those,” he said. “In the case of many municipalities, they’ve already spent the money, and we understand that. But we are all going to have to start doing more with less, and my office is not an exception.”
Legislature is scheduled for March 10, and according to Prentice, the Minister of Finance will be tabling the multi-year financial plan. However, he said residents are encouraged to continue to make their voices heard throughout the process.
