Alberta could run near $40B deficit by 2040 if changes not made, paper suggests | CBC News
The paper, which was authored by economics professor Kenneth
McKenzie, attributes that potential deficit to factors such as global
decarbonization policies and declining market demand.
McKenzie, attributes that potential deficit to factors such as global
decarbonization policies and declining market demand.
“We
have to face the reality that we can’t rely on oil and gas royalties to
finance our lavish lifestyle anymore,” McKenzie said. “This sort of
false dichotomy between spending versus revenue problem is a problematic
way to talk about this.
"We need a sustainable fiscal policy writ large, which involves spending and it involves taxes.”
McKenzie’s paper was released one day after a new government report called for a $600-million cut to Alberta’s operating budget.
Former
Saskatchewan finance minister Janice MacKinnon chaired the panel that
made those recommendations, stating that the province had “a spending
problem, not a revenue problem.”