Controlling the deficit: an Alberta perspective.

• Author: Magnus, Richard

In our last provincial election both the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties ran on campaigns based on balancing the provincial budget. Over 85% of those Albertans who voted in the last election voted for a government that would demonstrate fiscal responsibility by balancing the budget.

The Progressive Conservative Party, under the leadership of Ralph Klein, advocated a four-year plan to eliminate the deficit and balance the provincial budget. The four-year plan was based on the Deficit Elimination Act which was passed into law prior to the calling of the election in May 1993. The plan was based on reduced spending and a reorganization of the way government does its business. The Progressive Conservatives promised to balance the budget by the fiscal year 1996-97 without raising or introducing additional taxes. As a member of the government caucus I am proud to say that we are keeping promises and will deliver a balanced budget by 1996-97.

In 1992, when Ralph Klein successfully ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party, and again during the provincial general election, he made it clear that it was his belief that we were over-spending, not "under-earning", and that his focus would be on two things --deep spending cuts, tied to fundamental restructuring of government.

Last February we introduced our 1994-95 budget, which is the second year of our four-year plan. The highlights included:

* no tax increases, no new taxes, and no sales tax;

* we reduced the deficit by a further 37%, a reduction in actual program spending of $956 million;

* reduced the size of the public service by a further 1,788 positions;

* introduction of three-year business plans for every single government department. These plans define how much they will cost to deliver, and how results will be measured;

* by the end of fiscal 1994-95, we will have achieved over half of our four-year target.

We are implementing sweeping, fundamental and structural change that will forever alter the role of government; how programs and services are delivered; and Albertans expectations of Government.

There is too much administration in the education system that diverts dollars from the classroom; too much administration and regulation in the health care system that diverts dollars from community-based health care; too much subsidization of the true cost of municipal service; too many people becoming dependent on social assistance, instead of using it only as a...