Alberta Finance Minister Robin Campbell reassured Lakeland residents that the redevelopment of Highway 28 and the construction of the regional waterline remained “top priorities” for the provincial government when he made a stop in Cold Lake on Feb. 4 as a part of his province-wide pre-budget tour.
Speaking before a crowd of roughly 100 local residents, Campbell addressed the collapse of the oil market across the globe and the potential impacts the downturn could have on not only Alberta's, but the entire country's economic situation moving forward.
“Right now, the way I see it we have three major challenges facing us as a province – number one is obviously the decline in the price of oil. Number two is how we go about dealing with our growing population and infrastructure deficit, and the third relates to consumer confidence in Alberta,” Campbell said.
He added, “The fiscal situation in this province has changed very quickly in a very short period of time…the biggest shift is the declining oil prices... government spending for the foreseeable future is going to be affected.”
Campbell says the provincial government is budgeting for a $7 billion shortfall in the 2015 budget. He noted that shortfall could almost single handedly be blamed on dwindling oil prices, which have dropped from in excess of $100 a barrel as recently as last summer to under $50 a barrel by Christmas.
Despite the crippling shortfall, Campbell said the government would not be “irresponsible” with its anticipated cutbacks to provincial programs and projects and instead indicated investment would move forward as planned in 2015.
“This government will not make the same mistakes (as previous administrations),” Campbell said. “We have a massive infrastructure deficit in this province and I believe we need to spend to (help reduce that deficit).”
Campbell announced the province would be borrowing $29 billion to improve and upgrade its capital infrastructure over the coming years; a move he believes highlights the government's commitment to Alberta residents.
“We see 100,000 people moving to Alberta each and every year. We need more schools, more hospitals, and better roads not only for them, but for all of us that call (this province home). We've been through difficult times before… rest assured, we will weather (this storm),” Campbell said.
With revenues from the oil sector taking a massive hit, the provincial government will be forced to explore “other opportunities” as it relates to gathering funds moving forward. Those opportunities however do not necessarily include the implementation of a provincial sales tax according to Campbell, who stated roughly 75 per cent of Albertans have responded negatively to a potential PST.
“From what we're hearing, the people just do not want it,” Campbell told residents last week. “Premier Prentice has previously stated he would not embrace a sales tax and most of Alberta seems to agree (with him).”
Having taken on the role of finance minister shortly after Prentice was elected last fall, Campbell said his key focus has been on ensuring the province is spending what money it does have wisely.
After spending much of the last decade lobbying the provincial government regarding the importance of redeveloping Highway 28, many in the room were ecstatic to hear Campbell say the well-worn road could see some money in the 2015 budget.
“The Premier himself knows all about the problems with Highway 28 and he's made it quite clear that we need to do something with that road sooner, rather than later,” Campbell told the Nouvelle following the luncheon.
The finance minister did not stop there though. When quizzed by local media he admitted something needed to be done to ensure the regional waterline project, which will see water from Cold Lake pumped to Bonnyville and other surrounding communities, moves forward.
“Genia (Leskiw) has been working really, really hard on the waterline file, and I think everyone understands the importance of the project. I've said many times before, in 2015 we cannot be telling people they have to borrow their water. We have to do a good job of ensuring all our residents have access to good, clean drinking water. Nobody would have believed this 25 years ago, but water is the new gold. Our population continues to grow and water is scarce, so we've got to do a good job of making sure the water we do have is used to the best benefit of all Albertans,” Campbell said.
While he remained coy regarding when exactly the 2015 provincial budget would be released, Campbell warned it would be a “no frills” budget.
An official announcement is expected in early spring.
