Public jobs not a growth plan

Re: “Province endures another month of job losses after August reprieve,” Oct. 7.

Looking inside the job numbers from The Canadian Press article on the weekend, it has to be concerning that public-sector jobs continue to increase in Alberta (2,300 positions in September) and across Canada (26,200 positions) in absence of growth in the private sector.

Public sector jobs are paid for with tax dollars or borrowed money, which taxpayers will need to repay over time.

We all see the bee hive of activity for the ring road, which is a public-sector project with lots of people working, which is good, but all the costs are borne by the taxpayer (including the workers themselves).

Imagine that project, times 10, for private-sector projects like an Energy East pipeline or an LNG plant, with no additional tax burden and no public loans to repay. Economic growth and sustainability cannot be achieved without privatesector jobs.

The Alberta and federal governments will need to work very hard in supporting new private money projects to replace the $100 billion of recently rejected projects like LNG and pipelines. Bigger government spending may be a pillar in the ideology framework for the present ruling parties, but it is not a growth strategy, nor is it sustainable. Brian McConaghy, Heritage Pointe