STEPHAN: Alberta doesn’t have a revenue problem — it has an Ottawa problem

Jason Stephan was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Red Deer-South on April 16, 2019, and re-elected on May 29, 2023.While Alberta’s 2026 budget has positive aspects, with a massive projected deficit of about $9.4 billion (“Deficit”), it is self-evident that there are problems.Alberta has an Ottawa problemEvery year, Alberta workers and businesses pay $20 BILLION more to Ottawa than Ottawa gives back.If Alberta got those billions transferred back from Ottawa, Alberta would have a budget surplus exceeding $10 BILLION, not a deficit.Albertans voted in a referendum to get rid of equalization. Albertans have been ignored. Why? Because most provinces get equalization payments, the biggest recipient of which is Quebec, receiving about $13.9 BILLION in equalization this year. The Premier of Quebec said one of his favourite things about Canada is equalization.Every year, Alberta gets nothing from equalization while Albertans contribute the most into it.Albertans will NEVER see the constitution amended to get rid of equalization.Ottawa is too expensive for Alberta: taking hundreds of billions from Albertans more than it returns, enacting hostile laws and policies holding Alberta back, and, as a sinking ship, dragging Alberta down with it..Alberta has an immigration problemMany immigrants have values which align with Alberta values: a love of freedom, a willingness to work to earn prosperity, and a desire to love and serve their families and in our communities.But Ottawa chose indiscriminate, out-of-control immigration, with a disproportionate number of these immigrants, along with families and individuals from other parts of Canada, coming to Alberta.That is understandable. Alberta is the best province in Canada.But in the last five years, Alberta has seen its population grow by about 600,000. For context, that is equal to adding more than the population of Red Deer, Alberta’s third-largest city, each year, for the past five years!Collectively, and not individually, we are seeing newcomers use Alberta government services more than they pay in taxes to fund these services, thereby contributing to the deficit, along with increased housing costs and employment pressures.There will be an upcoming referendum in which Albertans will be asked whether individuals with non-permanent immigration status should reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for free access to public services such as healthcare and education, and whether, in the interim, they should pay a fee to use such services.Some media and NDP have called this “racist.” It is not. Many other countries require visitors to cover their own costs for public services. Such cost controls for visitors are not based on race; they are based on immigration status and are intended to protect the sustainability of those services for residents who pay for them..Alberta has a spending problemWhile there have been some positive steps, there is still a lot of work to be done.There should be means testing for all government support programs, including asset testing. Means testing protects the sustainability of these supports for those who truly need them.Physician compensation is the largest line item in Alberta’s operating budget. While many physicians are honest in their billing practices, some are not. And what are the consequences for overbilling? Except in the most egregious cases, the remedy is extraordinarily limited, often requiring only that the overbilled amounts be returned, assuming they are even discovered. Physician billing is a self-assessment system, just like our tax system, and similar to our tax system, there should be penalties and interest for all overbillings. While physicians should be well paid for the work they do, there must be better controls to identify and prevent overbilling on the front end, and proper deterrents on the back end to deter carelessness or even cheating. Physicians who are honest and careful in their billings should not be worse off than those who are not.Alberta has a union problemFor example, many Albertans would be surprised to learn that most Alberta public sector nurses choose to work part-time. Why? In many cases, this is because the union contract provides that part-time nurses begin earning overtime as soon as they work beyond their contracted part-time hours — even if their total hours fall short of full-time hours. This incentivizes nurses to choose part-time work and then regularly seek extra overtime shifts. Why should a full-time nurse get less money than a “part-time” nurse working the same hours?.Another example, the Alberta Teachers Association / ATA union was mad when the government ended their strike and restarted school. Like all jobs, there are challenges to being a teacher. Still, teachers receive: (i) complete health, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits fully paid by taxpayers, (ii) a gold-plated secure defined-benefit pension, 50% of which is paid by taxpayers and 100% backstopped by taxpayers in the event of shortfalls, (iii) up to 90 calendar days of paid sick leave, (iv) a full salary while taking summers, Christmas, spring break, and other holidays off, working about 200 days a year, roughly 60 fewer days than the average Alberta worker, and also receive additional paid personal leave and professional development days each year, (v) average salaries of $107,000 a year and starting salaries of about $71,000 a year. Given all of this, Alberta taxpayers should not be surprised that the education portion of their property taxes will increase in this budget.Alberta does not have a revenue problemIf Albertans confront these problems, there will be no deficits. There is no need to increase taxes.Taxes are too high in Canada, with all provinces except Alberta and Saskatchewan having combined marginal income tax rates above 50%. Unfortunately, Canada is seeing its per capita GDP falling like a rock compared to the US. Alberta is a land of freedom and prosperity. We must be vigilant to keep it that way.Jason Stephan was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the constituency of Red Deer-South on April 16, 2019, and re-elected on May 29, 2023.

STEPHAN: Alberta doesn’t have a revenue problem — it has an Ottawa problem

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