UCP promises ‘surgical’ cuts
Premier telegraphs austerity measures in pre-budget broadcast
The United Conservative Party’s first budget will cut provincial spending by 2.8 per cent, Alberta premier Jason Kenney said in a televised address Wednesday night.
On the eve of the much-anticipated 2019-20 provincial budget, Kenney said some infrastructure projects will be delayed or scaled back and “ineffective” government programs eliminated to curtail Alberta’s “immoral” deficit spending.
“We must embrace transformative change to produce a smarter government,” Kenney said in his message, which was also broadcast on radio and online.
“That won’t happen overnight, but I have confidence in our great public servants, our doctors, nurses, teachers and others, to help us to become at least as efficient as other provincial governments in Canada.”
The premier said budget cuts will have a “modest” impact on public-sector jobs in the province, adding employee reductions will occur mainly through attrition.
Clues about what’s to come in Thursday’s budget may be found in a blue-ribbon panel report released in September that studied Alberta’s spending.
Headed by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice Mackinnon, the panel’s 26 recommendations suggest adopting performance-based education funding, legislating public service salaries, downloading project costs onto municipalities, hiring more licensed practical nurses and nurse practitioners and paring back infrastructure spending.
Kenney pointed to Mackinnon report findings Wednesday, saying Alberta’s $56-billion annual spending would be about $10 billion lower if Alberta spent the same amount per capita as the average of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
The report also said higher levels of spending haven’t resulted in better services or outcomes.
He said his government will take a two-pronged approach to revitalizing Alberta’s economy — stimulating job growth to drive up government revenue, and improving government’s efficiency.
Although he characterized the budget as “challenging,” Kenney said cuts will be nowhere near as deep as former Premier Ralph Klein’s budget cuts in 1993.
He ended his remarks with a pep talk to Albertans.
“We need to pull together, make some tough decisions, and get through this,” he said. “We need to dig deep as a community, caring for the least fortunate, while unleashing the spirit of enterprise that has made Alberta the envy of the world.”
Opposition Leader Rachel Notley spoke to media following Kenney’s televised address, saying the spending cuts will raise costs to Alberta families.
“I believe tomorrow will be an important day for this province and I fear it will not be a positive one for regular Alberta families,” Notley said.
“You’re going to pay more in property taxes, in school fees, in tuition, for insurance, for home heating. In short, you will pay more unless you’re a wealthy corporation.”
Taking shots at the UCP’S corporate tax cut, Notley said to cut spending at the rate Kenney is forecasting the government will have to reduce front-line services. She said it would also mean a cut in spending on services for people with disabilities as well as housing, environmental monitoring and policing.
“In the last election (Kenney) promised no cuts to front-line services, but you cannot make these kinds of cuts without major drops in front-line services,” Notley said. “All so we can hand over a $4.5 billion gift to wealthy corporations which, just let me remind you, is not creating jobs.”
Earlier in the day the Opposition NDP gathered more than a dozen people together in the Federal Building who had attended town hall meetings the NDP hosted across Alberta.
Finance critic Shannon Phillips panned the government’s lack of public consultation leading up to the budget and said impending cuts will mean “pain for ordinary families.”
People told the opposition they are worried about the fate of reduced-cost daycare programs, drug-benefit plans for seniors, large class sizes and school support for students with disabilities, Phillips said.
Nina Babcock, a parent of three children, said her eight-year-old child’s large class size in Edmonton was a direct result of budget uncertainty created by the government.
The teacher has less time to spend with each student this year, Babcock said.
Kenney has said his government will not cut spending to health care or K-12 education.
Phillips said municipalities, post-secondary institutions and environmental initiatives could all be targets in Thursday’s cuts.
She said Kenney’s previous assertions that the former NDP government were too optimistic in their statements about the province’s finances are “total BS.”
“Jason Kenney is the master of making everything someone else’s fault,” she said.
The former NDP government ran deficit budgets during its four years in power, raising the provincial debt to $62 billion.
Earlier Wednesday, Finance Minister Travis Toews engaged in a pre-budget tradition by sliding on a two-year-old pair of cowboy boots that he’ll wear Thursday. The boots represent Alberta’s entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic, he said.
“This will be a thoughtful, surgical budget, that will balance in our first term, within four years,” he said.
Toews is expected to table the budget in the legislature at around 3 p.m. Thursday.