Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

NEXT DOOR IN ALBERTA …

 


Alberta’s budget deficits and mounting debt are, in part, due to its treatment of non-renewable resource revenues, but establishing new constitutional rules requiring a portion of resource revenues be saved would help stabilize provincial finances, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think-tank.

 

“It’s time the Alberta government introduced rules to stabilize this volatile source of revenue and stop the boom-and-bust cycle in government finances,” said Tegan Hill, economist at the Fraser Institute and co-author of A New (Old) Fiscal Rule for Non-Renewable Resource Revenue in Alberta.

 

As a sign of the volatility connected with resource revenues, consider that over the past 50 years, Alberta’s non-renewable resource revenue (adjusted for inflation) ranged from a low of$1.6 billion (1970/71) to a high of $19.0 billion (2005/06). As a share of provincial revenue, it’s ranged from 77.4 per cent (1979/80) to a projected 4.7 per cent in 2020/21—the lowest on record.

 

This volatility has fueled instability in the budget, particularly as the provincial government increased spending to unsustainable levels during periods of relatively high non-renewable resource revenue.

 

The study recommends re-introducing a savings account (the Alberta Sustainability Fund was eliminated in 2013) in which resource revenues can be deposited during periods when resource revenues are high. These savings can then be used to stabilize resource revenues in periods of comparatively low resource revenues.

 

The second recommendation is for the province to reinstitute the rule that requires a portion of non-renewable resource revenues be deposited into the Heritage Fund.

 

Crucially, these rules should be engrained constitutionally so that it is more difficult for future governments to change or simply ignore the rules when finances are tight.

 

“New rules based on the past experiences of the province—and not easily undone by future governments—that establish a predictable level of non-renewable resource revenue for the province’s budgets would help put an end to the boom-and-bust cycle in Alberta’s finances,” said Jason Clemens, executive vice-president of the Fraser Institute and study co-author.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interfor Moves Headquarters Out of BC as Forestry Crisis Continues

NDP policies are driving businesses out of B.C., and the forestry industry just suffered yet another calamity. Interfor, a BC company founded more than 60 years ago and now one of the world's largest lumber producers, is moving its headquarters from Burnaby, BC to Atlanta, Georgia. As BC’s forestry sector faces mill closures and mounting uncertainty, this move is another warning sign that the crisis is deepening and conditions are fatal. “This is the NDP’s record: endless job losses with no hope in sight for the forestry sector,” said Ward Stamer, Shadow Minister for Forestry. “Interfor still has three mills in BC which are now in serious jeopardy, and it is likely we will see even more companies pull out of BC. The NDP government is suffocating the forestry industry with high taxes, excessive regulations, and permitting delays, while DRIPA has made it impossible to plan for the future.” “Decisions like this are sadly not surprising given the NDP’s indifference if not hostility tow...
Post a Comment
Read more

Okanagan Farmers Face NDP-Created Water Crisis ~~ BC Conservatives

Okanagan farmers are facing a water crisis as government-imposed restrictions threaten to kill their crops and destroy one of B.C.’s most important agricultural industries. In perhaps the most water-rich province in the country, our farmers have been left high and dry by the NDP government. For nine weeks, Okanagan and Shuswap farmers have proposed solutions, only to be met with NDP foot-dragging. Now forest fires have come to these regions as they are simultaneously reckoning with a water crisis that has been made worse through years of government inaction. Vernon-area farms have lost 70 percent of their water, while Kelowna and Summerland growers face severe restrictions. This situation is unacceptable and cannot continue. Ian Paton, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said the NDP is once again forcing farmers to pay for its own failure to plan. "Farmers and ranchers must be listened to when decisions affecting their livelihoods are made, and under the NDP, they aren’t," said...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Hypocritically Admits Natural Gas Power Was Needed All Along ~~ BC Conservatives

The NDP just got caught buying back the exact kind of power plant it spent years telling British Columbians they didn't need. The NDP government announced today that BC Hydro is purchasing the Island Generation natural gas facility in Campbell River, an admission that its electrification-only energy policy was never realistic. The 275-megawatt plant was originally privately owned yet kept to a minimal backup role under the NDP, operating just 15 days a year on average. Now, with demand outpacing what the NDP's plan can support, the government is spending taxpayer funds on the very gas capacity it once treated as obsolete. "You cannot electrify everything and pretend natural gas doesn't matter," said Larry Neufeld, Shadow Minister for Energy.  "Buying back a gas plant they once wrote off is proof their own plan couldn't keep the lights on. It's a step towards more energy reality, but the government needs to go further and scrap the impending province-w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more