‘All we’re saying is come clean.’
The Alberta government should come clean about the province’s deficit which may be $3 billion higher than the $4.7 billion figure used in last month’s budget says a Wildrose Alliance MLA.
“However they put it on the books the fact is that we’re spending $7.6 billion more than we’re taking” says Rob Anderson MLA for Airdrie-Chestemere.
The government is required to account for its expenses such as money for school boards and municipalities. However capital projects are reported as assets and are not included in the budget says Anderson.
“By that logic you could build 30 bridges finish the ring road and build two more for $10 billion and by using the government’s accounting practices that still wouldn’t show up on the books as an expense” says Anderson. “All we’re saying is come clean.”
The government says it plans to balance the books using the Sustainability Fund and have the province’s finances back on track by 2012.
But if the government doesn’t include the money it’s spending on capital projects the government will still be in deficit says Anderson. “The fact is the Sustainability Fund by then will be gone they’ll be forced to go further in debt and we’ll be back to where we started in the Getty years.”
