Edmonton Journal

Break out the stretchy belts — NDP is getting tough on finances

- GRAHAM THOMSON gthomson@postmedia.com Twitter.com/graham_journal

Suck in your gut, Alberta.

The provincial government wants to tighten your belt.

But not in a sharp, painful way, apparently. This is not going to leave a bruise.

At least that’s how Premier Rachel Notley on Thursday described a ramping down of government spending.

“Now is the point in the plan where the same steady approach that saw us through the recession is going to see us carefully and compassion­ately tighten our belts,” Notley said. “And ask others to tighten theirs.”

So, this will be a “compassion­ate” tightening of the belt. I’m not sure how that works. Perhaps the belt is stretchy.

Notley didn’t give any specifics. She said those would be coming in the 2018 provincial budget. But her “belt-tightening” warning is significan­t.

This is the first indication from Notley that the government is working on a real plan to balance the budget rather than simply running up a large provincial debt while issuing vague promises about one day having no budget deficit.

Interestin­gly, Notley pointed to ways the government has saved some money.

“We’ve already started to negotiate common-sense agreements with labour unions, like the agreement with teachers which saw no pay raises in return for job stability and better services for kids. We also brought in our executive compensati­on framework, which says the days of lavish, out-of-whack salaries for CEOs of government agencies, boards and commission­s are over.”

Here is the belt-tightening-Notley getting “common sense” deals from unions and ending “lavish” salaries gifted to friends of the old Progressiv­e Conservati­ve government­s. Her message — she’s getting tough with everybody.

Notley’s choice of audience for this speech is interestin­g, too — more than 700 members of the Alberta Associatio­n of Municipal Districts and Counties.

These are not traditiona­lly fans of the NDP.

In fact, many of them booed deputy premier Sarah Hoffman at last year’s AAMDC convention when she talked about phasing out coal, a government policy that will hit several coal-dependent communitie­s hard.

This year, delegates were polite but cool. One complained publicly, to applause, that she wasn’t getting much useful informatio­n during a bear-pit session with 16 cabinet ministers.

The delegates represent a large swath of Alberta outside the major urban centres that feel slighted, if not outright ignored, by the NDP government.

These are the areas mainly represente­d by the United Conservati­ve Party.

Notley is trying to win them over by presenting herself as a pragmatic politician who is listening to them.

As something of a peace offering, she didn’t once mention the UCP or its leader, Jason Kenney, in her address, a remarkable performanc­e considerin­g how the NDP is obsessed with Kenney these days.

New Democrats mention Kenney all the time in speeches, in answers from cabinet ministers during question period, even in questions from NDP backbenche­rs during question period. It’s like a verbal tic.

But for 20 minutes on Thursday, Kenney disappeare­d from the NDP lexicon.

Notley didn’t mention Kenney until she was asked by journalist­s after about her decision to call a byelection in Calgary-Lougheed for Dec. 14.

This is the byelection prompted by the departure of UCP MLA Dave Rodney, who resigned Nov. 1 for the express purpose of allowing Kenney to get a seat in the legislatur­e. Kenney has been needling Notley to call the byelection right away and Notley has enjoyed making him twist a little in the wind while she made up her mind about a date.

The NDP doesn’t really think it can win this byelection. But it is hoping to turn up the heat on Kenney.

“We’re looking forward to asking Mr. Kenney to answer some of the questions that he hasn’t been compelled to yet,” Notley said. “How it is he’s going to cut 20 per cent (from government spending) without telling us what services will actually be lost as a result?”

That’s a fair question. Equally fair is how the NDP government hopes to tighten Alberta’s fiscal belt “compassion­ately.”

 ?? IAN KUCERAK ?? Premier Rachel Notley spoke at the 2017 Alberta Associatio­n of Municipal Districts and Counties conference in Edmonton Thursday.
IAN KUCERAK Premier Rachel Notley spoke at the 2017 Alberta Associatio­n of Municipal Districts and Counties conference in Edmonton Thursday.
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