Questions for the Candidates: Health, Education and Social Services

This last question is about 'HESS.'  In my view, every time our provincial government wants to tighten the belt, they start by reducing funding to Health, Education and Social Services!  Funding for these three areas is hard enough as it is, but tougher times make it almost impossible.

• Plans for new or upgraded health facilities are put on hold or dropped completely.
• Funds to school divisions are frozen or reduced even though student populations are ever-increasing.
• Health workers, social workers and teachers are asked to accept reduced or frozen salaries even though their jobs are becoming more difficult.
• Funding for new neighborhood school construction is years (sometimes decades!) behind the identified need for the facility. 

Question #5:  If your party forms Alberta's next government, how will it maintain needed funding to Health, Education, and Social Services while addressing these tough economic times?

Our Premier Missed His Chance!

Shortly after the Provincial Budget was tabled in the Legislature yesterday, my son Rhys phoned me and said he thought that Jim Prentice had blown his big chance to put Alberta on a safer financial path.  After going over the details of the budget, I agree with him!

The Alberta Progressive Conservatives had a chance to really set things right in this province, but they wussed out!  They zapped the smokers and the drinkers, which is a usual target when the governments need more cash; the so-called "sin tax."  But then they hit drivers, too!  I think the fuel tax increase will do more harm than good.  Ours is a huge province, with very little public transportation except in the larger cities. 

In my opinion, the fuel tax is just another punishment to Albertans for trying to move around their province for business or pleasure!

The health care surcharge won't even be applied to health care!  What kind of sense is that?  The well-to-do in this province were given a very small increase in their taxes and, from what I can read, the huge rich corporations got off basically scot free!

The ailing Heritage Trust Fund was propped up - instead of being drawn down to almost zero for this definitely "rainy day!"  Alberta's future education and health programs were ignored.  I guess the government expects all those folks moving into booming communities, like Airdrie, to drag their own hospitals, schools, seniors' care centres, and infrastructure in with them.  That, I gotta see!

Diversification was mentioned a few times. We'll have to see what comes of that.

The provincial opposition parties are in total chaos, so the Alberta PCs can't be worried about them, especially with their huge majority.   According to law, the Premier cannot call an election for another year yet. 

So why did he wuss out?  I don't know.

No Need of an Airdrie Hospital?

I have learned from a reliable source that Alberta Health Services and the provincial government have not yet even identified any need for a new hospital in Airdrie!

They have identified the need to expand the Airdrie Regional Community Health Centre!  Expansion of the Health Centre is a great start, but what about the desperately needed hospital?

In light of the current economic conditions and the state of the province's coffers, I didn't expect to see them digging a hole and putting in the foundation for the new hospital.  But I did expect there to be something in the preliminary planning stages.  I might have even thought that the province and the city would have scouted out a good spot for a hospital, and maybe even started the process to acquire the land.

Hospitals are expensive to build and operate.  I don't expect to see one built in Airdrie in the near future.  Now it appears the new Airdrie hospital has moved into never-never land!

Here we have a fast growing city with around 50,000 inhabitants, without a hospital - or even future plans for a hospital!  Somebody has dropped the ball, here.

Looking in a Mirror

I don't understand what all the fuss is about over Premier Jim Prentice's comment the other day about Albertans looking in a mirror to see who's responsible for the state of the province's finances.

He's right!  Almost all Albertans have benefited from programs, facilities, and services paid for, in a good part, by non-renewable resource revenues.

No provincial sales taxes, no medical surcharges, no toll roads, low provincial income tax; mostly just oil revenues.  The provincial government has had no meaningful direction from voters to diversify that revenue base.

Diversification of industry would make our province less dependent on those oil revenues.  Then, when oil prices tank, the provincial finances wouldn't be in such deep trouble. When was the last time you heard a candidate from any provincial party mention diversification during a campaign, other than just paying it lip-service?

And our provincial government has been spending and spending.  What about saving and saving?  What happened to building up the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, for those "rainy days"?   Peter Lougheed, our fist Conservative Premier, set that up.  If regular deposits had been made to the Heritage Trust Fund over the past 40 years, it would be worth billions now!

And who among us gave back those $400 'Ralph Bucks' checks?  I look in the mirror and I see someone who spent his Ralph Bucks.  Do you?

Now when you and I, and our Premier, are peering into that mirror we're also seeing those responsible for surviving this downturn and fixing it so it won't happen again! 

Many Taxes, One Pocket

It's no secret that one of the government's main source of revenue is direct taxation.  Each level of government has been given certain methods of gathering money from Canadians. 

The federal and provincial governments collect income taxes.  Our national government and most provinces (except Alberta) gather sales taxes.  Provinces tax things like liquor and tobacco (so-called "sin taxes"), while the provinces and the federal government both tax gasoline and vehicles. 

Municipalities tax properties - but the provinces have a hand out there, collecting its education portion of property taxes.  There is also the 'trickle down' tax dollars; the federal and provincial governments send a trickle of dollars down to the level (or levels) below them.

It's all very complicated, but what many of our elected MPs, MLAs and municipal councilors might forget sometimes is that all of these various levels of taxes are paid for out of one pocket.

The same person who pays his property taxes also pays provincial and federal income taxes.  The money used to pay property tax, liquor taxes, sales taxes, fuel taxes and  other taxes has already been taxed by the federal government before the taxpayer is even allowed to put his wages in his pocket!

All taxes are paid for out of one pocket; the taxpayers pocket! 

All elected officials; municipal, provincial, and federal, must be constantly reminded of this very fact.

Alberta's Upcoming Provincial Budget

Premier Redford's Address to Albertans, last week, and finance minister Doug Horner's comments about the upcoming budget have got me worried!

Both ministers tell us that there will be no tax increases, even though provincial revenues have seriously declined. They're telling Albertans that the budget will be balanced by spending cuts and "wiser spending," to accommodate the $6 billion resource revenue shortfall.

Small municipalities like ours rely on provincial grants and programs for improvements and upkeep in the village. Streets improvements, tourist facilities, and a myriad of other programs are paid for by provincial grants, at least in part.

I worry that some of these grants will be severely reduced or cut completely, as Premier Redford and Minister Horner sharpen their pencils!

If that happens, we have two choices;

• Reduce or eliminate the project or program.
• Increase municipal taxes to replace the lost funding.

Neither of these options appeal to me!

In my experience working in municipal government, I have realized that Albertans do not want severe property tax increases, even though our property taxes here in this province are lower than most others.

Bottom line is that I cannot support a significant property tax increase! If the province does severely reduce or cut grants to municipalities, we will have to do some real belt-tightening here!  Will the province download their financial shortcomings to the small municipalities?

I hope that I'm worrying for nothing!