EDMONTON, AB – Business leaders are weighing in on the NDP government’s plan for higher taxes, record debt and risky economics saying it will do little for job growth across Alberta, the Wildrose Official Opposition said Thursday.
According to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), the budget does “little to incent much needed investments to improve industry’s competitiveness, and to help stem the loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector.”
“The NDP’s economic agenda does almost nothing for the families facing the anxiety of job losses and wage cuts every day in the private sector,” Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said. “Businesses, industry and everyday Albertans understand that risky economic plans, higher taxes and record debt will never be a strong formula for strengthening the economy.”
On the NDP government’s expensive job grants program, several businesses are saying it will do little to trigger investment and hiring.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has noted the program does not reflect of what business owners are feeling right now as they are “looking to cut back on staff.”
Wildrose Shadow Jobs Minister Grant Hunter said NDP policies like higher taxes, more regulations and dramatic 50 per cent wage increases are only doing more damage to businesses dealing with Alberta’s tough economic reality.
“The NDP government is tied to a misguided ideology that works against growth instead of encouraging it,” Hunter said. “If the NDP was serious about supporting jobs and families, it would back down from its risky economic experiments.”