Reduced deficit: AB government
Posted Jun 24, 2010 10:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Minister of Finance and Enterprise Ted Morton says the deficit for the fiscal year that just ended will be $1 billion.
Increased energy royalty payments and higher than expected tax revenue, have combined with spending cuts to reduce the deficit from the original $4.7 billion projection.
“We had a plan to manage through these difficult economic times, we stuck to that plan and it has paid off. We kept a tight rein on spending and drew on the Sustainability Fund to protect vital public programs,” said Morton.
“If we had followed the advice of some of our critics, we would have made deep cuts that could have had damaging consequences,” Morton added. “But because we prepared for times like this by paying down our debt and putting aside money in the Sustainability Fund, we were able to cover the deficit while continuing to deliver the programs and services Albertans value.”
Morton says the province is still forecasting a deficit of close to $5 billion for this year, adding Alberta is not out of the woods because of an uncertain revenue picture, low natural gas prices and volatile oil prices.
A.T.B. financial economist Todd Hirsch says the good economic news means the government doesn’t have to look at other measures to help its bottom line.
He says he’s not surprised to see the dramatic swing in the province’s deficit projection because it’s always difficult to forecast what’s going to happen with a commodity based economy.
