EDMONTON, AB: The NDP government has broken the government’s own law and is in contravention of the Fiscal Management Act (FMA), all while keeping Albertans in the dark about Alberta’s fiscal situation, the Wildrose Official Opposition said yesterday.
The FMA outlines a schedule for reports on progress that are to be made public three times a year, including on Nov. 30 for the first six months of the fiscal year. No fiscal update was provided by the government prior to this deadline.
“This is an unacceptable and dangerous precedent for this government to set,” Wildrose Shadow Finance Minister Derek Fildebrandt said. “Playing fast and loose with the laws that govern our province just highlights once more this Minister’s ineptitude in fiscal matters.”
While Bill 4, An Act to Implement Various Tax Measures and to Enact the Fiscal Planning and Transparency Act, would have provided a one-time exemption for the Nov. 30 fiscal update, it has not yet become law.
Fildebrandt questioned the rationale for the government trying to dodge the law.
“We already know that the government is basing its revenue projections on highly unrealistic economic assumptions,” Fildebrandt said. “The NDP needs to come clean and tell Albertans exactly what fiscal outlook we are facing, as is required by our laws. Oil is down, the deficit soaring and Albertans are being asked to pay for it through the nose with a new $3 billion backdoor PST carbon tax.”