The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has launched a petition asking Albertans who want to hold the line on spending and a provincial sales tax to sign up online.
The campaign, entitled “Be Like Ralph,” asks Premier Jim Prentice to govern more like former premier Ralph Klein in the 1990s when he wiped away the provincial deficit with deep cuts to spending, social programs and rollbacks to public service wages.
“For a long time now we’ve cautioned the government it was spending too much in the good times and now, lo and behold, we’re looking at a serious deficit unless they get spending under control,” said Colin Craig, prairie director for CTF.
Holding up a poster with a large photo of Klein and a space for a signature at the bottom, Craig added: “We’ve given Albertans a new tool to send the premier a message to get spending under control just like Ralph did.”
With oil prices plummeting, thousands of layoffs in the energy sector and Alberta’s economy expected to see months of hardship ahead, Prentice had previously warned Albertans that he may consider a provincial sales tax to offset dwindling revenues.
Over the weekend, the premier all but ruled out a sales tax, saying the public’s opposition made it unlikely he would introduce a PST in the March budget.
Speaking Tuesday from Washington, D.C., Prentice also downplayed any changes to Alberta’s corporate taxes, saying the province needs to remain competitive.
“Other Canadian provinces have caught up to the Alberta Advantage and I think it would be unwise at this point to increase our corporate income tax,” he told reporters.
“If we do that, it will simply result in less investment, fewer jobs … I think it would be the wrong thing to do at this point in time.”
But on the broader issue of taxes and spending, the premier also said it would be “irresponsible” to not take steps to address a looming revenue shortfall triggered by lower oil prices.
“The circumstances we are dealing with are different than the circumstances that the province dealt with 20 years ago,” Prentice added. “Clearly we have to reduce and compress government spending. We also have to deal with the revenue side.”
Still, Craig said the province needs to do more to scale back government spending, including reopening union contracts, rolling back wages and re-prioritizing capital projects.
“When Premier Klein was in office he faced numerous challenges, but he didn’t raise taxes. He rolled up his sleeves and got spending under control in a number of different areas.
“Play hard ball with the unions, absolutely. For too long they’ve been playing soft ball.”
But Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said public sector workers have negotiated collective agreements in good faith and dishonouring them would be illegal.
He added that “the last thing Premier Prentice should do is be more like Ralph Klein. He created the budget mess we have now after blowing holes in spending for education and health care.
“It’s left us more vulnerable to oil prices than ever.”
With files from Chris Varcoe, Calgary Herald
eferguson@calgaryherald.com
