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Braid: Prentice edges toward public union pay cuts
Premier Jim Prentice had a great chance Wednesday to quash talk of public sector pay cuts. He didn’t take it. Asked on CBC if he might reopen contracts and even reduce pay, the premier said, “We’re...
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Promised Calgary cancer centre under review as costs increase, says premier
Premier Jim Prentice says a cancer centre proposed for Calgary is an example of the runaway costs and lack of controls around building public facilities — and it must be rethought. But opposition MLAs...
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Letters for Tuesday, January 27
Seniors flock south to pay less for dental work Re: “Meet Alberta’s least expensive dentist,” Jan. 23. Thank you for exposing what dentists’ outrageous charges are in Calgary. I have tried to find an...
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Braid: After cutting his own pay, how far will Prentice go?
How’s that for pressure? By cutting his own pay and his cabinet’s by five per cent, Premier Jim Prentice tells every public-sector worker in Alberta: now we’re coming at you. The dramatic move,...
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Corbella: Prentice blinks but keeps eyes on the prize
Premier Jim Prentice has just come back from the eye doctor. He’s had “every conceivable test” and warns that’s why his pupils are dilated and why he’s blinking a lot. But by the end of a 40-minute...
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Prentice nixes corporate tax hikes to fill budget hole
The premier is narrowing the options he’ll pursue to rescue the provincial budget from the drop in oil prices, but some critics think he should be more ruthless, like Ralph Klein. Jim Prentice says he...
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Canadian Taxpayers Federation tells Prentice to be more like Ralph Klein
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,”...
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Veteran Calgary MLA Yvonne Fritz to step aside after 22 years in legislature
In 1993, as Alberta was grappling with a deepening budget deficit and government cuts, registered nurse Yvonne Fritz made the jump into the provincial legislature with a new Tory premier in charge. On...
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Lakritz: The last thing we need is another Ralph
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has started a campaign featuring a photo of Ralph Klein and the message: “Dear Premier Prentice, Be Like Ralph!” This leaves me no choice but to start my own...
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Letters for Saturday, Feb. 7
Kudos to all those helping the O’Briens to heal Re: “Thousands attend Nathan O’Brien charity hockey game at Saddledome,” Feb. 5. Whenever I read about the O’Briens or see a family picture with their...
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Letters for Wednesday, Feb. 11
Shift to new format for school day Re: “Prentice laments ‘cumbersome’ student enrolment lotteries,” Jan. 29. Our government wants to reduce costs in pursuit of a balanced budget. Can we consider...
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Braid: Brutal Alberta spring looms as Prentice refuses to budge on spending cuts
A premier who refuses to restore funding for Alberta’s Child and Youth Advocate isn’t likely to bend to any pressure at all. Bring him your demonstrations, your placards, your crying babies — Jim...
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Big budget cuts trigger outrage among unions and public interest groups
As the province sets the table for deep spending cuts in the upcoming budget, teachers, nurses and public interest groups say they’re girding for the biggest financial battle since the days of the...
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Milke: Ralph Klein saved health care and education
Premier Jim Prentice and Finance Minister Robin Campbell have made it clear the province will reduce government spending in its March budget. In response, many people have alluded to the 1990s, when...
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Acuna: Klein’s policies got us into this mess
By Ricardo Acuna It’s curious how the proponents of the “cut first and ask questions later” approach to provincial budgeting continue trying to spread the myth that Ralph Klein’s cuts in the 1990s...
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Milke: Alberta tried tax hikes in the 1980s — they didn’t work
In the debate over whether the Alberta government should reduce and reform spending to cushion the blow from falling revenues, some claim higher taxes will balance the books. How soon we forget....
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Braid: Prentice agenda looks familiar because everybody's tried it
Cut spending, hike taxes, find a climate-change policy, reform health care, control public-sector pay— Premier Jim Prentice’s core agenda sure sounds familiar. That’s because so much of it was...
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Editorial: Reflecting upon Prentice's remarks
Premier Jim Prentice has a huge and unpleasant task ahead of him, deciding which services to cut and by how much. But he needs to be more careful about his public pronouncements and how they come...
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Letters for Monday, March 9
Tuition hikes tip balance in favour of wealthy Re: “Prentice meets behind closed doors with U of C governors,” Feb. 27. Hiking university tuition fees to a level where too many of our mid- to low-wage...
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Morton and McDonald: Ignore the siren song of diversification
By Ted Morton and Meredith McDonald Former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed is celebrated for his defence of the province during the 1970s, and deservedly so. Then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was a...
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