Finance Minister says summer temporary employment program not on chopping block
原始发布日期： 2015-12-22 发布者：中和字变大 字变小
 Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci talks to reporters before the start of a meeting with Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his provincial and territorial counterparts, in Ottawa, on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. FRED CHARTRAND / THE CANADIAN PRESS Ceci, who attended a finance ministers’ conference in Ottawa Monday, said he will ask cabinet to defer a number of programs that were not fully funded in the budget in order to keep on the targeted $6.1 billion deficit. “Lots of things have to be on the table because of the financial challenges we have, but … STEP was not one of them,” he told reporters on a conference call from the nation’s capital Tuesday. “It is a program that we announced in Budget 2015 in October and we’ll be following through with that in the summer.” During her election campaign, Premier Rachel Notley promised the return of STEP, which provides grants to municipalities, businesses and charities to hire students as summer help. The program had been eliminated by the previous Progressive Conservative government three years ago. Ceci said cabinet will decide, however, whether to push back, or reduce, other promised programs that weren’t announced in the budget. He did note that there have been a number of campaign promises which have been implemented. “We have to work together to make sure that we can address the budget challenges we have,” he said. “The deficit is what it is, and we have a pathway back to balance and a fiscal plan that we need to stick to. I will, of course, be highlighting that when we get together.” He said the action is necessary as a result of oil prices that have plummeted to less than $40 per barrel from highs of $100 per barrel a scant 18 months ago. Programs like all-day kindergarten, rural bus route expansion, reduction of school fees, an expanded child care credit and long-term care beds will be reviewed, Ceci said. But the Finance Minister said the NDP government will not pull back its aggressive infrastructure building program, which is being financed by borrowing, or its initiatives to diversify the economy. He noted Alberta previously generated 20 per cent of its revenue from non-renewable resources, but the revenue stream now accounts for only six per cent of total provincial revenue. “Those holes just can’t be fixed easily or quickly, so the focus we have in our budget of diversification and investment of dollars so that the economy can get working again … is a necessary prerequisite,” he said. Federal finance minister Bill Morneau has advised provincial finance ministers that the new Liberal government will be providing infrastructure dollars for transit, green initiatives and other initiatives to bolster the economy, said Ceci, and Alberta still plans to borrow matching funds to get Albertans back to work. “We’ll be looking for our share to make sure we can leverage that up with provincial funding that we have identified that we’re going to be investing across Alberta,” Ceci said. “This is a good place to invest money and we’re going to do that. That would not be a place that we would want to do any reductions. We’re going to stimulate the economy. … That’s the right thing to do.” dhenton@calgaryherald.com twitter.com/darcyhenton Calgary Herald |