Prentice willing to borrow to build Alberta
When it comes to building Alberta, Jim Prentice isn’t afraid to use the “B-word”: Borrow.
Prentice, who is in a threeman race to replace Alison Redford as Progressive Conservative leader and provincial premier, says when it comes to building schools, senior-care facilities, roads, bridges and mass transit, if it’s necessary to borrow, his government will do so.
“This infrastructure shortage is a big issue in the province,” says Prentice, who has been driving around Alberta since the campaign started in June. On that note, he says rural roads have never been in such poor shape.
Now, no right-wing politician in Alberta ever talks about raising taxes to fix these roads and build all the other infrastructure that Alberta needs. But Prentice and the PCs continue to differentiate themselves from the Wildrose on the issue of borrowing to build.
Prentice is open to borrowing to deal with Alberta’s rapid growth. As recently as the early 1980s, Alberta’s population hovered around the two million mark. It’s now at 4.2 million, with another two million-plus expected to move here by 2041.
Every 100,000 newcomers bring 15,000 school-age students, necessitating 28 new schools, Prentice says, drawing the analogy that if a family adds more children, it borrows a reasonable amount to buy a new house, then pays it off as quickly as it can.
The provincial government must do the same, he says, making up for its $15 billion to $25 billion infrastructure deficit in the next five years and paying off any new loans in the next 15.
“We are going through just extraordinary growth in this province right now, and you need the basic facilities for your citizens. And to suggest that we wait until all the cash is accumulated under the mattress, you know, life doesn’t work that way. The provision of government services doesn’t work that way. Families don’t lead their lives that way. It’s not realistic.”
Of note for big city voters, Prentice sees mass rapid transit in Calgary and Edmonton as being on the list of top funding priorities. “LRT is one of the core infrastructures we have to build … We’re clearly going to have to have a modern, up-to-date functional rapid transit system.”
Prentice says he will sit down with the two big city mayors, Don Iveson and Naheed Nenshi, and come up with a mutual, longterm plan on what needs to be built and how to pay for it. The province has been “lurching” around with its funding commitments to the cities and moving too slowly on a new agreement with Edmonton and Calgary, he says. “It’s impossible to engage in long-term planning in that kind of an environment.”
Prentice is the son of a GrandeCachecoalminer.He’s been a Calgary lawyer with a specialty in representing private citizens in property rights cases, a cabinet minister in the Harper government, and a bank executive, not a bad background for someone hoping to lead.
Prentice also has an Edmonton connection, having earned his business degree at the University of Alberta.
“Edmonton is an exciting, dynamic place. I’m really impressed with the sense of optimism in this city. I think Edmonton has changed quite profoundly over the last 10 years. There’s a lot of confidence here.”
Having talked to Prentice at length now on city and education issues, it’s not hard to see why diehard Edmontonians and city builders like former mayor Stephen Mandel, his chief-of-staff Patricia Misutka and former city councillor Kim Krushell are all keenly working on his campaign.
Prentice is clued in to the massive frustration felt by civic leaders in Alberta over the government’s high-handed and chaotic manner under Redford. Crucially, he’s not selling himself as the boss with all the answers, but as someone with a firm grasp of the issues and a willingness to work with others to solve problems. He’s the anti-Redford in that regard.
Some politicians will wow you in person with their intelligence or charisma, but leave you wanting when it comes to forming credible policy. Prentice is more lowkey than flashy, but the more you think about what he has to say, the more you are impressed with his approach.
His main problem? If he wins, the group of MLAs that botched so many key files, from education to LRT funding, will be his MLAs.
Was Redford that much of the problem? Will a new leader make so much of a difference? I’m not sure.