"Do we have a spending problem?" the premier asked herself in a Calgary radio interview. "I think we do have a spending problem and that's one of the reasons we've undertaken the results-based budgeting process, which I think will actually have both short-term and long-term impacts."
Redford also backed off the contention that Alberta has a revenue problem - one she starkly outlined on provincial television last month when she announced the province faced a $6-billion shortfall in resource revenue for the upcoming budget due to the discounted price of Alberta bitumen.
Earlier this week, the province projected it could end up with a $4-billion deficit in its $41-billion budget for the current fiscal year ending March 32.
On Friday, Redford told QR77 radio that Albertans will ultimately decide the revenue question, but it's not a question they need to answer right now.
"I don't think Albertans are going to tell us that we have a revenue problem, and I think we can manage our way through this," she said.
The premier reiterated she has no plans to introduce a provincial sales tax, adding she would not repeal or amend the Taxpayers Protection Act that makes it against the law to introduce a sales tax without holding a provincial referendum.
In the weeks leading up to the March 7 provincial budget, the premier has stressed the fiscal plan will be tough but fair.
"We know what happens when we make across-the-board cuts and we don't invest in infrastructure. We end up with both an infrastructure deficit - which is bad enough - and a social deficit," Redford said.
"We don't want to do that when we still have 100,000 people coming to the province every year. We're looking internally through the results-based budgeting process to make sure we're tightening our belts as effectively as we can."
Cabinet ministers are focusing on programs created for specific reasons that no longer apply, that duplicate other programs, or are no longer effective, she said.
NDP Leader Brian Mason said Redford has made a complete about-face since the provincial election last spring.
"What a revelation," he said. "That is pretty rich from someone who made $7 billion in campaign promises in the last election. This is a typical Tory bait-and-switch. They promise goodies and deliver pain."
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman said the Progressive Conservative leader appears to be admitting she "has been sleeping at the wheel."
"I am not so sure she realizes she just admitted to mismanaging our money," Sherman said.
Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson said he is intrigued the premier has adopted his own party's position that the PC government spends too much.
He said the Conservatives have likely taken the position after polling Albertans.
"People don't believe it's a revenue problem," he said. "We spend more than any other province, so people just don't buy the idea that there's nowhere to cut."
Original Article
Source: calgaryherald.com
Author: Darcy Henton
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