An internationally recognized credit rating agency is sounding alarm bells on Alberta’s debt situation.
The Toronto-based agency DBRS says with oil prices so low and the government’s borrowing plans so high, Alberta will exceed its own self-imposed debt limits this fiscal year.
Alberta cannot borrow so much money that it exceeds 15 per cent of its gross domestic product.
READ MORE: Moody’s adjusts credit outlook for Alberta to negative; rating still at AAA
Finance Minister Joe Ceci says that 15-per-cent limit is critical to ensure that future generations of Albertans are not saddled with crippling debt.
Premier Rachel Notley’s government has ramped up infrastructure spending to $34 billion over the next five years, despite the low price of oil.
That spending was based on benchmark oil being at $50 a barrel, but right now it’s wallowing below $30 a barrel.
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