CALGARY – Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci says the government is committed to responsibly managing tax dollars without “knee-jerk” cuts to social programs.
Looking forward to the April 14 budget, Ceci says the NDP government plans to constrain spending without compromising services.
Addressing the Canadian Club in Calgary, he said the government’s goal is to “hold budgetary increases to below population growth plus inflation levels.”
He reiterated many of Premier Rachel Notley’s comments in her televised address Thursday night, including the urgency of securing new pipelines and the need for the federal government to provide extended employment insurance to all regions of Alberta.
Ceci said the budget will be a “shock absorber in these tough economic times” but that the government will continue to look for cost savings.
He said he is concerned by current debt levels and committed to smaller and smaller deficits in future budgets.