EDMONTON – The provincial government says it has flat lined its operational spending for the 2013-2014 year, but critics are calling the document the “bankrupt budget” and the “back in debt budget.”
Thursday, the Redford government tabled its budget for the year, which outlined a projected revenue of $38.6 billion, holding operating expenses at $36.4 billion, while carrying an operational deficit of $451 million.
However, taking into account all expenses, the province will carry a net deficit of $1.97 billion. The Sustainability Fund was used to offset a larger deficit.
“The premier has said that this would be an historic day, and I agree with her, it’s an historically sad day,” said Leader of the Wildrose Official Opposition Danielle Smith.
“The fact of the matter is Albertans are very proud of being debt free and this is a back in debt budget,” she added.
“This is a bankrupt budget,” said Liberal Leader Raj Sherman. “It’s intellectually and morally bankrupt. Alison Redford has doubled down and trickled down. The problem is, the burdens are trickling down, not the benefits.”
“This is a budget that hurts people,” he added. “Our classrooms are bursting at the seams. Our seniors have been neglected in long term care. Waits in health care are longer than ever. And this failed economic policy of trickledown economics hurts people because it starves government of revenue required for essential human programs.”
“This is the broken promises budget,” said NDP Leader Brian Mason. “This government has broken faith with the people that elected it. It misled Albertans into re-electing it and now we’re seeing the same old Conservative party, the same old Conservative tricks with this budget. What we’re seeing, I think, is a shrinking budget for a growing province and that’s going to create all sorts of problems.”
It wasn’t simply the numbers that had critics upset; the way the numbers were presented also garnered some criticism.
“This government is doing the complete opposite of what was done for the last twenty years. They are separating it into three different budgets that really don’t mean anything,” said Derek Fildebrandt with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
This year, the province introduced a new way of reporting its finances. The 2013-2014 numbers are displayed using the new Fiscal Management Act, which splits revenue and costs into three categories: operational, capital, and savings.
“When you throw out the junk math of the government, the real deficit we project is going to be somewhere between $5.7 and $6.7 billion,” added Fildebrandt.
“They should be ashamed of themselves,” said Rob Anderson. “They’re using smoke and mirrors to mask how awful the problem is… we have a $5.5 billion deficit, that’s what it is. They’re borrowing $3.5 billion this year, they’re draining another $2 billion out of Sustainability, it’s 5.5 billion.”
“It’s a mess,” said Danielle Smith. “When governments start doing this – start pretending that there’s three different pots of money to choose from: a savings budget and a capital budget and an operating budget – it’s because they’re trying to hide, they’re trying to hide the true nature of the cash shortfall.”
However, some politicians and special interest groups welcomed the new format.
“As a small business person, that’s how we do our budgets as well, and most households do as well,” said Lindsay Dodd, Chair of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. “We have so much that we can spend every year on operations and then we invest in capital for the longer term, so it makes a lot of sense…It’s a bit different, it might take some getting used to but it provides some more transparency, which is always something we want.”
“I don’t find any problem with that. I think that’s a legitimate approach and it’s helpful to me to distinguish more clearly where the money is going,” Liberal MLA David Swann.
To take a closer look at the 2013-2014 provincial budget, visit the Government of Alberta’s website.
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