The NDP government delivered an update on the province’s finances on Tuesday and said that the $10.5B deficit we’re facing is on its way down, but only slightly.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci, who delivered the second quarter update on Alberta’s books from Edmonton, says the economy is improving, saying the GDP growth exceeded expectations of 2.6 percent.
He’s now predicting a four percent growth in the GDP by the next quarter.
Ceci also said the deficit is down just slightly, to $10.3B.
The opposition says such a small reduction means that the NDP isn’t doing enough to tackle the province’s financial issues.
“Think of the indebtedness that we’re leaving to the next generation and getting back to balance $100M at a time will take hundreds of years,” said Drew Barnes, UCP finance critic.
Ceci, however, insists his government is still doing the right thing.
“With the recession behind us, the path to balance is ahead. We said we’d keep spending growth down and that’s what we’re doing.”
He says the province is still on track to a balanced budget in six years.
The plan for that means a hiring freeze on government jobs and zero percent salary increases for public sector employees.
Public consultation on Budget 2018 is available online until February 2, 2018.
