Alberta’s UCP says government spending restraint and improving revenues has cut this year’s deficit $2.8 billion and now sits at $21.3 billion..“Alberta was the first province to introduce an economic recovery plan in response to COVID-19, and we will also be the first to introduce a comprehensive plan to bring Alberta back to prosperity,” said Finance Minsyer Travis Toews in an economic update Tuesday..“The foundation of the next provincial budget will be to bring spending in line with other jurisdictions, keep the net debt-to-GDP ratio well below 30 per cent, and have a plan for balancing the budget as we get through the pandemic and there is more economic certainty.”.Toews said expenses not including COVID-19 measures have decreased $156 million from Budget 2020..Total expense is forecast at $62.7 billion, up $135 million from last quarter and $5.4 billion from Budget 2020..“The additional spending is for health care, personal protective equipment, municipal grants, financial supports to Albertans and businesses to help with the effects of the pandemic, and stimulus initiatives detailed in Alberta’s Recovery Plan. Taxpayer-supported debt is forecast to be $97.4 billion by the end of the fiscal year, a reduction of more than $2 billion since first quarter,” the government said..“The revenue forecast is nearly $3 billion higher than last quarter, at $41.4 billion. The increase from first quarter is due to improved forecasts for non-renewable resource revenue, gaming revenue, investment income, and transfers from the Government of Canada.”. Defying crackdown, hundreds march against lockdowns in Calgary .Toews said Alberta’s economy is gradually emerging from the depths of the downturn..Alberta’s real GDP is expected to contract 8.1 per cent rather than the 8.8 per cent reported in August..Real GDP is expected to fully recover to 2014 levels in 2023..Alberta has also seen a significant rebound in employment already this year, recovering more than 258,000 of the 360,900 jobs lost between February and April, said the UCP..The UCP is also again renewing calls to the federal fiscal stabilization program which was capped 30 years ago at $60 per person..The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Toews to reprioritize belt-tightening..“The dismal fiscal update needs to be a wake up call for Toews to tighten the belt on government spending,” said Franco Terrazzano, Alberta Director for the CTF..“It’s been months since the first bad-news budget update, but we haven’t seen Toews get serious about fixing the government’s spending and debt problem.”.The interest costs on the debt are expected to be $2.4 billion this year, which is more than $500 per Albertan, said the CTF..The Alberta government has the highest per-person spending in Canada, according to the Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s finances. The panel also found that Alberta would spend $10.4 billion less every year if its per-person spending was in line with B.C., Ontario and Quebec..Departments such as Advanced Education, Agriculture and Forestry, Environment and Parks, Service Alberta and Transportation are all projecting higher operating spending than what was included in the 2020 budget..“We shouldn’t see multiple non-health-care departments increasing their spending. Many families and businesses have been cutting back on nice-to-haves, and the government needs to do the same,” said Terrazzano..“Toews has to do a better job saving money and reducing spending because struggling Albertans can’t afford higher taxes.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
Alberta’s UCP says government spending restraint and improving revenues has cut this year’s deficit $2.8 billion and now sits at $21.3 billion..“Alberta was the first province to introduce an economic recovery plan in response to COVID-19, and we will also be the first to introduce a comprehensive plan to bring Alberta back to prosperity,” said Finance Minsyer Travis Toews in an economic update Tuesday..“The foundation of the next provincial budget will be to bring spending in line with other jurisdictions, keep the net debt-to-GDP ratio well below 30 per cent, and have a plan for balancing the budget as we get through the pandemic and there is more economic certainty.”.Toews said expenses not including COVID-19 measures have decreased $156 million from Budget 2020..Total expense is forecast at $62.7 billion, up $135 million from last quarter and $5.4 billion from Budget 2020..“The additional spending is for health care, personal protective equipment, municipal grants, financial supports to Albertans and businesses to help with the effects of the pandemic, and stimulus initiatives detailed in Alberta’s Recovery Plan. Taxpayer-supported debt is forecast to be $97.4 billion by the end of the fiscal year, a reduction of more than $2 billion since first quarter,” the government said..“The revenue forecast is nearly $3 billion higher than last quarter, at $41.4 billion. The increase from first quarter is due to improved forecasts for non-renewable resource revenue, gaming revenue, investment income, and transfers from the Government of Canada.”. Defying crackdown, hundreds march against lockdowns in Calgary .Toews said Alberta’s economy is gradually emerging from the depths of the downturn..Alberta’s real GDP is expected to contract 8.1 per cent rather than the 8.8 per cent reported in August..Real GDP is expected to fully recover to 2014 levels in 2023..Alberta has also seen a significant rebound in employment already this year, recovering more than 258,000 of the 360,900 jobs lost between February and April, said the UCP..The UCP is also again renewing calls to the federal fiscal stabilization program which was capped 30 years ago at $60 per person..The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Toews to reprioritize belt-tightening..“The dismal fiscal update needs to be a wake up call for Toews to tighten the belt on government spending,” said Franco Terrazzano, Alberta Director for the CTF..“It’s been months since the first bad-news budget update, but we haven’t seen Toews get serious about fixing the government’s spending and debt problem.”.The interest costs on the debt are expected to be $2.4 billion this year, which is more than $500 per Albertan, said the CTF..The Alberta government has the highest per-person spending in Canada, according to the Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s finances. The panel also found that Alberta would spend $10.4 billion less every year if its per-person spending was in line with B.C., Ontario and Quebec..Departments such as Advanced Education, Agriculture and Forestry, Environment and Parks, Service Alberta and Transportation are all projecting higher operating spending than what was included in the 2020 budget..“We shouldn’t see multiple non-health-care departments increasing their spending. Many families and businesses have been cutting back on nice-to-haves, and the government needs to do the same,” said Terrazzano..“Toews has to do a better job saving money and reducing spending because struggling Albertans can’t afford higher taxes.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
