The Alberta Teachers' Association says it is "incensed" by recent changes the UCP government has made that it says take control away from teachers when it comes to their pensions.

Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews said the plan is to get Alberta out of the financial ditch in February with the budget.

"It's actually conceivable within three to five years that Alberta could be an equalization recipient province," said Ben Eisen, a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute.

Travis Toews made the comments as he announced the revised budget deficit this year will be $21.3 billion.

Alberta's nurses union says the province's health delivery agency has rejected a call for a settlement similar to one reached with nurses in Saskatchewan that would have provided stability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees said it was handed a new offer from the province on Thursday, which asks for the four per cent cut this year, followed by three years of zero increases.

The panel says the main reason for increased costs is higher injury payouts characterized by adversarial courtroom conflict, fault-finding, delays, and duelling experts.

“Who comes out in the middle of a pandemic and tells more health-care workers that their jobs are gone?”

In August, the double blow of collapsing oil prices and the COVID-19 crisis pushed Alberta into a historic deficit of $24.2 billion.

Finance Minister Travis Toews issued a blistering news release on Thursday afternoon, accusing an Alberta nurses union of orchestrating an "overreaching and disingenuous demand for indefinite job security."