By Dylan Jones
In the Calgary Herald
March 6, 2015
Premier Jim Prentice is under fire for pointing the finger at Albertans for the fiscal crisis we now face. It is all right to be angry, but we should also be bursting with pride. We have a true Albertan as premier; someone with the courage to say what he believes, no matter if it puts the hand-wringing handlers into fits.
We talk a lot about speaking truth to power. In a democracy, the people have the power, and for the most part, government follows rather than leads. We can bemoan that sad reality, but when we see signs of leadership in a politician, we should rejoice. Speaking truth is essential to leadership.
Ironically, I do not entirely agree with Prentice’s statement. Albertans should be able to rely on the expertise of government to manage public finances capably and with integrity. And Albertans should be able to rely on their politicians to be honest when we are on an unsustainable trajectory and actually say so.
Yet, while we are being honest, let us also admit that in recent years, we have been inclined to form a posse and run out of town any politician who tells us we are getting more public services than we can afford. And when it comes to public services, we are.
The typical Albertan has a lower income tax rate than other Canadians, pays no provincial sales tax and has no health premium. However, public spending per citizen in Alberta is 36 per cent higher than the national average. It is not obvious Albertans are always getting good value for dollar because services here are expensive. Some of this is inevitable because of the inflationary effect of our extraordinary energy sector, but it is also a result of government — and public — complacency about the management of public sector spending. Most problems in the public sector are not best solved by throwing money at them.
Following Prentice’s remarks, one man noted that his son had to raise money to fix the leaky roof at his school. It is actually wonderful that his son is giving back at such a young age. What a great role model for a time when we have to let go of some of our entitlements. And given that the teachers in that school likely made more than teachers in other provinces, and paid less tax, I hope the teachers were helping with that fundraiser.
The Canada West Foundation has argued for years that Alberta should be investing the bulk of the proceeds from oil and funding public services with a steady, non-volatile return from those investments. Aside from the long-term sustainability benefits, this approach would also diminish the inflationary effect of spending royalties as they come in.
This change is also increasingly vital as we are only one or two generations from a global transition away from oil as a core transportation fuel. However, it will require us paying more as we go and more aggressively seeking value in the public sector. There is a lot of support for this change in government, but so far the public — that is Albertans, the people in the mirror — just haven’t been willing to bite.
Prentice is now telling us the truth. While we may not be responsible for everything that has happened in the past, if we clobber the politician who is finally coming clean with us, we are definitely responsible for what happens in the future.