Canadian money
The provincial government’s books are in and while Progressive Conservative leaders are beaming the opposition parties don’t think officials have much to be proud of.
Alberta’s financial statements show higher-than-expected resource revenue helped the province attain a $2.5 billion surplus in its operational spending. Last week the government also revealed the Heritage Fund contains roughly $16 billion thanks to an “all-time earnings record of $2.1 billion” after earning a 16 per cent return on investments for the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Soon after the government announced the latest figures Wildrose Finance Critic Rob Anderson pointed out in a public statement that Alberta’s $45.3 billion in revenue may have been 17 per cent higher than forecast but the government still spent $2 billion more than it received which does not a surplus make.
Anderson adds the 2013-14 capital budget laid out $5 billion in spending plans for capital projects yet financial statements released on June 30 mention only $2.4 billion in “capital grants.”
“This method of budget reporting has been strongly criticized recently by six former Alberta finance ministers who called for a return to consolidated budgets. It has been thoroughly discredited and should not be relied on for accurate information” Anderson said in reference to the change to a three-part reporting process.
Alberta Liberal Party leader Raj Sherman also weighed in with a statement claiming “the PCs should be ashamed of themselves for running any sort of deficit in Alberta.”
Sherman also said he doubts the PC government merits praise for its financial management “when it is also responsible for a critical lack of schools classrooms bursting at the seams a post-secondary education system reeling from deep cuts a lack of affordable quality home care and long term care and a health care access crisis.”
