AUPE budget submission asks government to switch up old song and dance
By Tyler Bedford, Communications Staff
"Tighten our belts!" It''s a tired chorus that often repeats leading up to budget time every year in Alberta.
And like a broken record, the same melody repeated itself in November 2017, when Premier Rachel Notley told the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties that the government would cut spending through "compassionate belt tightening" in this year''s budget. And once again, there was no discussion about other options, such as revenue reform, to address our provincial budget deficit.
"There''s nothing compassionate about spending cuts, rollbacks and other austerity measures," said Alberta Union of Provincial Employees President Guy Smith. "And there''s nothing responsible about failing to address the revenue side of things. It''s unfortunate because shortsighted cuts do nothing to improve the economy and end up hurting families and their communities.
"In fact, during the downturn, public service jobs helped stabilize Alberta''s economy. Many families relied on the employment income of a public sector worker and so did local businesses. The steady income of these workers allowed them to continue to spend and support local establishments, which helped keep our economy running," Smith said.
And so, with the province recovering from the recent recession, AUPE urged the government in its 2018-19 pre-budget consultation submission to resist calls to reduce the deficit through cuts and to do more to bring in the stable, reliable revenue needed to support the services Albertans depend on.
The union called on the government to properly fund government services, including additional court clerks and administrative staff in our justice system, and to boost funding in community and social services to address caseload growth.
Stable funding in forestry and environment was also encouraged to ensure the vital jobs of fish and wildlife officers, scientists, search and rescue, among others, are supported.
And with a recent report by the Columbia Institute, which highlighted that services can be offered by the public sector at a higher quality and lower cost than the private sector, AUPE encouraged the province to undertake a review of contracted out services and to identify services that should be brought back in house.
"When it comes to health care, last year''s budget predicted funding in 2018-19 would increase by 2.5 per cent. But with anticipated population growth plus inflation rates expected to reach 3.6 per cent in 2018 and 3.7 per cent in 2019, this projected increase falls short of keeping up with the health care needs of the province," said AUPE Executive Secretary-Treasurer Jason Heistad.
"At minimum, AUPE would like to see stable health care funding increases equal to inflation plus population growth," Heistad added.
AUPE''s submission also included a focus on investing in front-line workers and minimizing the growth of Alberta Health Services management ranks. As it stands, for about the average cost of an AHS manager, which is around $155,900, the province could provide close to four additional front-line workers.
The union also continued its push to have the province deliver on its promise of 2,000 public long-term care beds across Alberta, which the NDP laid out specifically as a way to shorten emergency room wait times, improve seniors care and reduce hospital congestion.
"The NDP was correct about the need to invest in more public long-term care spaces in its 2015 election platform," Heistad said. "This promise needs to be kept.
"The province should also work toward improving access to the right types of health care services Albertans need. This is crucial to ensuring our communities get the best quality care possible. This can be done at a lower cost to the province too, which is a definite plus.
"For example, investing more in mental health services, as well as public home care, which costs up to 50-per-cent less than residential care, could help reduce reliance on long-term care and acute care beds, leaving those spaces available for those who need them most.
"So we included in our submission the recommendation to invest more in public home and mental health care in an effort to both reduce costs and the demand on residential care," Heistad added.
In post-secondary education, AUPE supports the government''s decision to extend the tuition freeze, but would like to see increases in operational spending to ensure there are no reductions in funding. There is also need for a commitment from government to increase funding to K-12 education equal to enrollment growth in order to maintain current levels of service.
Finally, while the budget has managed in the past to get by without additional sources of revenue, like a more fair and balanced tax system, the so-called Alberta advantage has quickly become a revenue disadvantage.
"With high oil prices a thing of the past, it''s clear responsible revenue reform is needed in order to offset dangerous budget cuts and to protect the province from the uncertainty of non-renewable resource revenues," said President Smith.
"That''s why AUPE recommended the province commit to reducing its reliance on non-renewable resource revenue by applying a more responsible tax structure to ensure we have the steady revenue needed to safeguard the services millions of Albertans rely on every single day.
"It''s far past time the government change its approach to provincial budgeting," President Smith added. "Healthy investment in public services combined with a responsible approach to revenue reform is what''s needed to support a growing province like Alberta. We just hope the government is listening."