It’s time to reform the tax code, eliminate exemptions and cut corporate subsidies, while significantly reducing spending
By Steve Lafleur and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute Alberta’s recovery from the recent recession has been slow and, for many, painful. More than four years after oil prices plummeted in late 2014, private-sector employment in the province still hasn’t recovered to pre-recession levels. Although there will always be factors outside the provincial government’s control…
The basic presumption of democracy requires us to try to understand one another rather than calling opponents murderers
Dennis Raphael, a professor of health policy and management at York University in Toronto, recently penned an opinion piece that represents a low point for discourse about public policy in Canada. Raphael describes the policies of the new Conservative government in Ontario, and specifically the decision not to increase the minimum wage next year, as “social…
Undisciplined spending by successive governments is responsible for Alberta’s fiscal problems
By Ben Eisen and Steve Lafleur The Fraser Institute In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, one of the conspirators encourages his ally not to blame fate for his misfortunes, but rather to recognize his own responsibility. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves,” says Cassius. When it comes to the state…
The more the government spends on servicing its debt, the less is left over for priorities that Albertans value such as health care
By Steve Lafleur and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute When people think of the long lost “Alberta Advantage,” they often think first about the province’s tax advantage over other provinces. Specifically, the 10 per cent single rate personal and corporate income taxes that prevailed until 2015. But Alberta enjoyed another fiscal advantage – all other…
Rachel Notley seems intent on duplicating the deep-diving debt performance of former Ontario NDP leader Bob Rae
By Ben Eisen and Steve Lafleur The Fraser Institute When Rachel Notley’s NDP shook Alberta’s political landscape by winning a majority government in 2015, the similarities to the Ontario’s Bob Rae-led NDP government in the 1990s were striking. Both cases marked the first NDP government in provincial history, and both brought an end to Progressive…
Despite promises to end the reliance on resource royalties, Rachel Notley's government keeps piling up the debt and looking to the same revenue source
By Ben Eisen and Steve Lafleur The Fraser Institute Before forming government, Rachel Notley and the Alberta NDP vowed to get the province “off of the resource revenue roller-coaster.” So it’s ironic that now-Premier Notley’s third budget promises to take the province on yet another ride. Her government’s vague and risky “path to budget balance”…
The slow path to balance means the province will continue adding debt by the bucketful for many years, penalizing future taxpayers
By Ben Eisen and Steve Lafleur The Fraser Institute The Alberta government’s 2018 budget figures would be shocking if Albertans weren’t already accustomed to such numbers. The operating deficit is expected to be $8.8 billion in 2018-19, down slightly from its peak of $10.8 billion two years ago. It’s difficult to contextualize such a large…
Despite an improving economy, the provincial government still projects $9.1-billion deficit
By Steve Lafleur and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute The Alberta government recently released its third-quarter fiscal update. While the update contains some good news about the economy, the outlook for provincial finances remains dire. The government expects a $9.1-billion deficit this fiscal year and it has no intention of balancing the budget until 2023-24. First, the…
Albertans have more debt, continued reliance on volatile natural resource revenue and higher taxes to look forward to
By Steve Lafleur and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute The Alberta government’s large and persistent budget deficits remain one of the most important policy problems facing the province. This year, the province expects another deficit of more than $10 billion and forecasts call for a nearly identical deficit next year. The government of Premier Rachel Notley is…
Options for reform are severely limited so long as a rule requiring program costs to escalate every year remains
By Ben Eisen and Joel Emes The Fraser Institute Jason Kenney, candidate for the leadership of Alberta’s United Conservative Party, recently called for reform to Canada’s equalization program. Specifically, he suggested a referendum in Alberta to force the federal government to consider removing non-renewable resource revenue (in Alberta’s case, mostly revenue from oil) from calculations…
By Steve Lafleur and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute Alberta’s recovery from the recent recession has been slow and, for many, painful. More than four years after oil prices plummeted in late 2014, private-sector employment in the province still hasn’t recovered to pre-recession levels. Although there will always be factors outside the provincial government’s control…
