CRITICS SLAM NDP SPENDING
Wildrose says government headed in wrong direction with costly infrastructure plan
Wildrose Leader Brian Jean says the NDP government is headed in the wrong direction with its plan to ramp up infrastructure spending, but a senior cabinet minister counters that the official Opposition has an “anti-jobs agenda.”
Premier Rachel Notley sent out signals this week at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association convention that her government is looking to extend capital spending beyond the levels laid out in the spring budget introduced — but never passed — by the former Tory government.
The PC financial document called for $6.4 billion in capital spending this year, part of a fiveyear plan projecting $29.5 billion in expenditures on projects such as roads, schools and hospitals.
In at interview following his own speech to the AUMA on Friday, Jean said he was already worried infrastructure spending in the Tory budget was too high.
He said the province’s capital plan should be extended over an additional one or two years.
“Even when they spend $7 or $8 billion and they allocate that into infrastructure, we don’t have the capacity to build it,” said Jean, who suggested $5 billion is an appropriate level of annual spending.
Jean said the focus of capital dollars should be to make investments in quality projects and receive value, not simply to get money out the door.
“They’re spending money without really thinking about where they’re going to allocate it,” said Jean, who called on the government to get a handle on spending.
The NDP government that upended the Tories in the May 5 election has pitched increased capital spending both as a way to address a serious infrastructure deficit and as a means of economic stimulus.
The province has been hit hard by oil prices sliding under US$50 a barrel, with Alberta’s economy expected to shrink by 0.6 per cent this year. The economic downturn has also hammered the provincial budget, with the government projecting the deficit could rise as high as $6.5 billion.
Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason said on Friday that no final decisions have been made, but conversations with the construction industry and finance experts suggest the province does have the capacity to boost infrastructure dollars.
He accused Jean of wanting to slash public-sector jobs as part of the Wildrose plan to cut spending.
“At the same time he doesn’t want to give jobs to unemployed tradespeople,” said Mason. “Mr. Jean has an anti-jobs agenda.”
The NDP’s contention that Wildrose wants to cut public service positions has infuriated the official Opposition.
Jean said Friday there should be a moratorium on layoffs of teachers, nurses and other front-line workers, but the government could reduce the ranks of managers.
Other opposition leaders who spoke at AUMA Friday were more supportive of the NDP’s infrastructure proposal.
Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark said “well-managed debt” is OK, but insisted the government must have a clear repayment plan.
Under the Tories’ blueprint, the province’s capital debt was to grow to $31.2 billion by 2019.
Clark — like Jean — said he is also concerned about the government’s signals around the provincial budget that it will release next month.
At the AUMA convention, neither Notley nor Finance Minister Joe Ceci would say whether there would be further tax increases in the budget to follow the hikes to corporate taxes and income taxes on high earners already implemented by the NDP.
They premier and minister also refused to say whether the government is on track to balance the budget again by 2018, as the NDP promised in the spring election.
“The NDP are going to learn money is not infinite and what this province needs is better management of our public spending,” said Clark.
“They promised to balance the budget by 2018 — I’m going to hold them to that promise.”
But Liberal Leader David Swann, who backs the government’s infrastructure plan, said Notley and Ceci are simply being honest about the state of the government’s finances.
“It’s honest to suggest we don’t know what’s coming in the future. We don’t know what the price of oil is going to be next year,” Swann said, suggesting the government will have to find new ways to bring in more cash.
“There is no option to actually moving towards a balanced budget, apart from bringing in more revenue.”
Interim Progressive Conservative Leader Ric McIver told AUMA delegates in his speech that the NDP government has caused uncertainty in the province, saying Albertans used to be confident that their children would find opportunity at home.
“Since May 5, I think that confidence has been shaken,” McIver said.
It’s honest to suggest we don’t know what’s coming in the future. We don’t know what the price of oil is going to be next year.