Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinordi
Lets play the counterfactual card. Say WRP was in power the last 18 months. How would Alberta's fiscal situation be materially different? What specific policies would they have done besides sprinkling fairy dust?
Globally, investment in the oil sector is down $700 billion. No I'm sorry to tell you that policy "uncertainty" or "taxes" had essentially zero impact on investment in oil and gas. Policy uncertainty has had no bearing on the fact that the Canadian patch is cash flow negative leaking $2 in costs for every $1 in revenue.
Investment in the broader economy is down because of the figures above.
So yes, we all want someone to blame. We all want to think that there's some causal connection between the government and our economy but in this instance, we need to accept that as a province we live by the resource economy and we die by the resource economy. That was a long-term policy built over generations of PC governments that the success of this province hinged on oil and gas development.
The outlook is particularly grim as well. We may well have witnessed the peak of the Canadian oil patch 8 years ago.
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All true. Which is why the NDP needs to put their big boy pants on and make substantial cuts to spending in order to transition towards a provincial budget that is not inflated with energy royalties. The reason teachers, nurses, etc. in Alberta make 25K more a year than their counterparts in New Brunswick is because of energy revenues. Those revenues will be dramatically lower for the foreseeable future. Every year the provincial government delays making tough choices, the deeper the cuts will need to be.