With almost six times the royalty revenue of the last government, the UCP are raising taxes, running deficits and cutting services.
CUPE Alberta President Raj Uppal says Alberta deserves a new approach.
“For the last six years, the UCP slashed corporate taxes, underfunded education, underfunded health care, cut post-secondary funding, and cut municipal funding,” said Uppal. “In yesterday’s budget, we have a huge deficit, tax increases, and they’ve still not reversed their own cuts to education and health care.”
“There’s a crisis in health care, but no new funding for hospitals or primary care. Classrooms are overcrowded, but no funding for a single new public school.”
Uppal noted that Albertans will pay an additional $360 million in increased taxes and fees while corporate taxes remain the same.
The almost $10 billion deficit wipes out the surpluses of previous years that were themselves built on cuts to key services.
“Today’s budget just shows, again, that the UCP are incompetent managers of our money and our public services.”