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Choices of new Alberta government will affect the rest of Canada
Judy Monchuk
Canadian Press
November 22, 2004
CALGARY (CP) - Alberta is set to be a very wealthy province for the foreseeable future, so the enviable question facing the incoming government is how best to spend all the loot.
The $23-billion debt is paid off, provincial coffers are bursting with billions in surplus revenues and there is no end in sight to soaring energy prices. "The issue is whether or not Alberta will use its money wisely or squander its wealth," said David Taras of the University of Calgary.
"Unless there's real wisdom and a real debate, real follow through and real imagination, it's possible that Alberta could squander its wealth in a very short time."
That's a sobering thought for a province where bumper stickers once pleaded for one more boom, promising not to "piss away" another potential windfall.
But Premier Ralph Klein ran a campaign so devoid of substance that one columnist dubbed it "Kleinfeld"-an election about nothing. Klein offered few clues as to what his Conservatives might do with the treasure trove.
For their part, the Liberals and New Democrats said their Alberta would include spending millions more on post-secondary education, eliminating health-care premiums and investing substantially in the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, set up by former premier Peter Lougheed as a rainy-day account for the time when Alberta's oil runs out.
The incoming government will have some heady and exhilarating choices to make - choices which could well affect the rest of the country.
"We can invest in post-secondary education, we can invest in alternative energy sources, we can invest in things in the province that can be national assets," said Roger Gibbins of the Canada West Foundation.
Alberta eliminated its debt largely by delaying spending on such basic services as education and roads. Now those areas need attention, and the burgeoning population is growing increasingly cranky.
"People are saying 'Why should I pay greater tuition, higher municipal taxes? Why can't I get a doctor when there's such a massive surplus?' " said Taras.
Klein was at turns bored and grumpy through much of the 28-day campaign, and didn't reveal how he might revamp health care or how much would be put aside for the Heritage Fund or what he sees as the province's priorities.
Will Alberta create its own Harvard or Johns Hopkins? Should taxpayers expect annual rebates from energy royalties, as Alaskans do?
Many Albertans are ready to help the incoming government with a vision for the future.
Advocates for the poor point out that the province's minimum wage - $5.90 - is the lowest in the country.
In bustling, uber-rich Calgary, the number of homeless has doubled in the last two years. In what has become a nightly shuffle for parents with children in tow, a network of churches provided 16,495 beds, showers and food in 2003. That number has almost doubled in five years.
Alberta's boom has allowed other problems to fester out of sight, such as the lack of space to educate the next, or even the current, generation of innovators.
"With a very buoyant economy, the province has been able to buy the best and the brightest from around the world," said Gibbins.
"In the short term, we got off the hook and avoided the cost. In the longer term, I think there's a growing recognition that having that intellectual capacity here, having institutions here, is itself a way of attracting investment and opportunity to the province."
Edmonton and Calgary, each with a metropolitan population of roughly one million, are the only cities of their size in Canada without at least a second university.
In Calgary, Canada's fastest growing city, it's estimated there are 15,000 qualified students who will not find places in post-secondary institutions in the next three to five years.
"You're forcing the brains of your province to leave and go elsewhere for an education," said Taras.
And while the University of Alberta is rated among the top in Canada, the U of C scraped bottom in the recent Maclean's survey ranking the country's schools.
"Something has to give and what should give is the stinginess of the provincial government," said Anton Colijn, president of the University of Calgary's faculty association.
Alberta often trumpets that it's open for business, but even business is worried that the Conservatives failed to revise their priorities to look at the long-term picture.
One oilpatch consultant says the lack of planning could even jeopardize the future of such industries as the oil and gas sector.
"Alberta industry strives to be the best, so to accept mediocrity in training would only undercut that aim," said Paul Ziff of Ziff Energy.
"The ongoing sustainability of the industry is going to depend on a flow of the best qualified students in a variety of disciplines," he said. "With literally billions of dollars in surplus, it makes no sense."
Judy Monchuk
Canadian Press
November 22, 2004
CALGARY (CP) - Alberta is set to be a very wealthy province for the foreseeable future, so the enviable question facing the incoming government is how best to spend all the loot.
The $23-billion debt is paid off, provincial coffers are bursting with billions in surplus revenues and there is no end in sight to soaring energy prices. "The issue is whether or not Alberta will use its money wisely or squander its wealth," said David Taras of the University of Calgary.
"Unless there's real wisdom and a real debate, real follow through and real imagination, it's possible that Alberta could squander its wealth in a very short time."
That's a sobering thought for a province where bumper stickers once pleaded for one more boom, promising not to "piss away" another potential windfall.
But Premier Ralph Klein ran a campaign so devoid of substance that one columnist dubbed it "Kleinfeld"-an election about nothing. Klein offered few clues as to what his Conservatives might do with the treasure trove.
For their part, the Liberals and New Democrats said their Alberta would include spending millions more on post-secondary education, eliminating health-care premiums and investing substantially in the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, set up by former premier Peter Lougheed as a rainy-day account for the time when Alberta's oil runs out.
The incoming government will have some heady and exhilarating choices to make - choices which could well affect the rest of the country.
"We can invest in post-secondary education, we can invest in alternative energy sources, we can invest in things in the province that can be national assets," said Roger Gibbins of the Canada West Foundation.
Alberta eliminated its debt largely by delaying spending on such basic services as education and roads. Now those areas need attention, and the burgeoning population is growing increasingly cranky.
"People are saying 'Why should I pay greater tuition, higher municipal taxes? Why can't I get a doctor when there's such a massive surplus?' " said Taras.
Klein was at turns bored and grumpy through much of the 28-day campaign, and didn't reveal how he might revamp health care or how much would be put aside for the Heritage Fund or what he sees as the province's priorities.
Will Alberta create its own Harvard or Johns Hopkins? Should taxpayers expect annual rebates from energy royalties, as Alaskans do?
Many Albertans are ready to help the incoming government with a vision for the future.
Advocates for the poor point out that the province's minimum wage - $5.90 - is the lowest in the country.
In bustling, uber-rich Calgary, the number of homeless has doubled in the last two years. In what has become a nightly shuffle for parents with children in tow, a network of churches provided 16,495 beds, showers and food in 2003. That number has almost doubled in five years.
Alberta's boom has allowed other problems to fester out of sight, such as the lack of space to educate the next, or even the current, generation of innovators.
"With a very buoyant economy, the province has been able to buy the best and the brightest from around the world," said Gibbins.
"In the short term, we got off the hook and avoided the cost. In the longer term, I think there's a growing recognition that having that intellectual capacity here, having institutions here, is itself a way of attracting investment and opportunity to the province."
Edmonton and Calgary, each with a metropolitan population of roughly one million, are the only cities of their size in Canada without at least a second university.
In Calgary, Canada's fastest growing city, it's estimated there are 15,000 qualified students who will not find places in post-secondary institutions in the next three to five years.
"You're forcing the brains of your province to leave and go elsewhere for an education," said Taras.
And while the University of Alberta is rated among the top in Canada, the U of C scraped bottom in the recent Maclean's survey ranking the country's schools.
"Something has to give and what should give is the stinginess of the provincial government," said Anton Colijn, president of the University of Calgary's faculty association.
Alberta often trumpets that it's open for business, but even business is worried that the Conservatives failed to revise their priorities to look at the long-term picture.
One oilpatch consultant says the lack of planning could even jeopardize the future of such industries as the oil and gas sector.
"Alberta industry strives to be the best, so to accept mediocrity in training would only undercut that aim," said Paul Ziff of Ziff Energy.
"The ongoing sustainability of the industry is going to depend on a flow of the best qualified students in a variety of disciplines," he said. "With literally billions of dollars in surplus, it makes no sense."
My ideas:
- Greatly increased post-secondary funding
- Great emphasis on research and development, technology
- More money to health care
- Infrastructure upgrades to meet and/or surpass the massive influx of people
- Investments into the Heritage fund
.
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