On April 8, David Swann delivered his official response to the budget in the Alberta Legislature:

Introduction
On behalf of the people of Alberta and as Leader of the Official Opposition, it is my duty and privilege to rise and respond to the budget delivered in this Assembly yesterday.

It is a budget the Official Opposition cannot support.

Mr. Speaker, when the honourable member for Edmonton Riverview – our former leader- responded to last year’s budget he said that future historians would look back at that budget and say, “This is when Alberta finally lost its chance to build a sustainable future. This is when they failed to take advantage of their last opportunity to adapt to a changing world.”

Unfortunately for all of us, the honourable member’s vision has come true. After years of record surpluses granted by oil and gas revenues, this administration has at last proven their utter incompetence beyond all doubt, transforming the largest surpluses in our history, within a few short months, into the largest deficit in provincial history. In fact, this administration can’t tell us the true size of the deficit, because they still don’t know the amount of the health care budget’s deficit from last year.

No one can blame the Stelmach administration for the global economic decline. But when we examine the root causes of that decline, we see the same lack of discipline, transparency and accountability displayed by the Conservative administrations of the last 15 years.

They have no long-term vision; their plans shift with the times.

They’ve allowed the Heritage Fund to stagnate. They refuse to implement a savings plan.

They’ve created chaos in the health care system, and gone into deficit to do it. They have left us more vulnerable than ever to volatile energy prices, and the only reassurance they can offer Albertans is to say, “Gee, we sure hope things get better next year!”

Rather than lead us out of this mess, this administration is counting on chance to do the job for them.

Mr. Speaker, that simply is not good enough for Alberta.

A Professional Approach to Planning and Public Policy
Learning to live within our means is a responsible goal for individuals, families and businesses. It requires a clear vision and plan and then discipline to carry it out amid the din of demands and needs and wants. Yet there are times when borrowing, going into deficit or longer term debt is appropriate – for lasting values that benefit the long term. I don’t have an issue with deficits when they’re truly needed. But for Alberta to be in a deficit situation now is truly embarrassing.

This Premier’s administration has mismanaged so badly that we went from the biggest boom in our history to the biggest deficit in our history within a span of months. That is overwhelming evidence of leadership failure in this province – to squander such an opportunity so badly. If Alberta had true leadership, rather than simply an aging caretaker administration, there’s no way we’d be talking about deficit and debt today.

As a physician, I helped people lead healthier lives by first defining their problems; gathering information; seeking the opinions of other experts; considering options; proposing a diagnosis and a plan of action; implementing the plan; dealing with unintended consequences as they arose; monitoring progress; and evaluating the treatment and the state of the patient.

This sort of systemic, professional approach can and should be applied to government policy and planning. 

Fiscal Discipline
A responsible government would have controlled spending, saved a percentage of its nonrenewable resource wealth – living off the interest rather than the principal, and planning (investing) for future generations. This administration could have looked to Alaska or Norway for examples of resource-dependent cultures who found the fiscal discipline to save for the future.
Both these places had a plan, and they have stuck to their plans, cushioning them from the ups and downs of oil and gas prices. Alberta, on the other hand, is completely at the mercy of oil and gas price fluctuations.

This administration, on the other hand, has claimed many times that Alberta is in better shape than other provinces facing this economic downturn. That’s simply not true. Our neighbours in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are all doing better than us. In fact, we’re far more vulnerable than the government is letting on. Our dependence on the oil and gas sector makes us inherently more vulnerable. When that one sector takes a hit, everyone suffers.

Our government’s stubborn refusal to diversify or plan for the future has had predictable results. They failed to adequately consult conventional oil and natural gas producers on royalty changes, creating anger in our oilpatch – especially the service companies and staff. They’ve flip-flopped on the royalty scheme, pleasing some players in the industry for now, but creating long-term uncertainty for the entire sector.

Recently the Official Opposition brought a small fraction of this administration’s extravagant spending to light – millions of dollars in bonuses paid out to senior officials, even in departments that have failed to deliver value for money, such as Health and Children’s Services, among others. Only when we exposed the affair did the government do anything.

A responsible government would have understood the hypocrisy of asking Albertans to tighten their belts while handing out huge bonuses to well-connected senior officials. A real leader would have halted the bonus program not because his administration was embarrassed by the political fallout, but because it’s the right thing to do.

A responsible government, for that matter, would stick to their budgets, something this government has failed to accomplish time and time again. Off-budget spending has been the norm in Alberta for years, making Alberta’s budgets meaningless as planning tools – which helps explain why this government has been so bad at planning. It just doesn’t seem to be in their nature.

How much stock can Albertans put in this budget? I’ll be surprised if the government’s plans don’t change completely by the time the first-quarter update rolls around.

We need a government that follows through. We need a government that is more accountable and professional about managing a budget of tens of billions of dollars.

This administration has a crippling character deficit: they lack fiscal discipline. They had the greatest opportunity in history to save for Alberta’s future, and they blew it. We have spent virtually all of the non-renewable resource wealth we’ve taken from the ground in the past 16 years. Instead of saving and living off the interest from this wealth – as Norway and other oil-producing countries have done for decades – this administration has left us criminally vulnerable.

The Alberta Liberal Approach
An Alberta Liberal government would not have made that mistake. The Alberta Liberals still believe that a savings plan is essential for Alberta’s future, even during times like this. You don’t stop contributing to your RRSP just because of an economic slowdown. Families are more prudent than that. This administration could use some of that prudence. Instead, they’ve watched the Heritage Fund stagnate and decline in value and will likely do so for a few more years.

Albertans have a right to know where their money is being spent. The Stelmach administration must perform an independent, value-for-dollar audit so that taxpayers get the best possible value for our money. An independent audit, not the embedded audit that purports to save $215 million. It’s revealing where these savings have been found – they slashed funds intended to help the homeless while keeping horse racing subsidies in place.

Does this administration truly believe that Albertans place a higher value on horse racing than on helping the homeless?

For every dollar that British Columbia spends, we spend $1.28. What are we getting for the extra money? Where is the evidence our money is being spent wisely and leaving a legacy for future generations?

Clearly there’s a huge amount of wasteful and imprudent spending, far more than just $215 million. An independent audit, transparent and open to the people, would provide savings and new efficiencies for the long term.

We don’t expect this administration to establish an independent audit – it would be too incriminating; it would be too uncomfortable for a government that has truly lost its way and confuses self-interest and partisan interest with the public interest.

Do we support going into debt? During these extraordinary times we need to stimulate our economy – we owe it to our working families and to others to ensure that we leave no one behind. We support limited debt financing of infrastructure when necessary, but it has to be prudent, and it can only be done after a value-for-dollar audit. We do not support public-private partnerships.

Serving the Public Interest
When I responded to the Speech from the Throne earlier this year, I said that the primary purpose of government must be to serve the long-term public interest.

This administration is not serving that purpose. They have instead served up a budget that is full of unjustified optimism but short on the details Albertans depend upon to plan our future.

All we know is that the Conservatives will take “corrective action” if revenues don’t rise soon, meaning big tax hikes or deep cuts to public services, or both. “Corrective action,” the new euphemism for the pain this administration is preparing to foist upon Albertans, Albertans who played no part in the administration’s bad management.

I’ve noted before the case of Easter Island, whose inhabitants depended upon one resource for their prosperity, harvested that resource until it was gone, and whose civilization crumbled shortly thereafter. Alberta is no island, and yet this administration seems determined to act as if it were - they have made us an island, isolated from our neighbours, dependent upon a single, volatile resource.

Now we see where this administration’s mentality has led us. A few weeks ago, the Finance Minister said that Alberta would lose 50 jobs a day. Well, so far this year, we’ve lost an average of 500 jobs a day – 30,000 jobs lost in two months. The government predicted that we would lose just 15,000 for this entire year, and already we’ve doubled that.

Economists now forecast that Alberta’s economy will decline by 2.3 percent this year, the largest decline of all the provinces. This one statistic reveals just how vulnerable Alberta really is – to see-saw from having the highest rate of growth in the nation to the highest rate of decline within the short span of a few months. Where is our long-term sustainability? Where is the economic stability that Albertans deserve?

What’s going to happen to Albertans when the next budget comes? Already the government is cutting back on health care capital spending, and we haven’t even seen the health deficit yet. Forget about the extra hospital capacity that our cities so desperately need – we’re in serious trouble here, and our most vulnerable citizens will pay the price for this administration’s failures.

Alberta’s prosperity is almost completely dependent upon oil and gas revenues, and yet no one in government seems to see this as a problem. It’s almost as though they believe the oil and gas will last forever, and that it will always be a very valuable commodity.

This administration created a highly inflationary economy by failing to provide leadership in our oilsands development. And we continue to pay the inflated costs of development today, though somewhat reduced due to the global recession.

Now the government is scrambling for answers. They overspent on frivolities like bonuses, horse racing and golf subsidies, let infrastructure collapse in the 90s so that Albertans are paying through the nose to catch up, and failed to set aside enough savings to get us through this.

A Time for Accountability
As I mentioned earlier, the global economic downturn is not the government’s fault.

But the Stelmach administration is responsible for its utter lack of preparation for a day that had to come eventually. Most Albertans know from past experience that oil booms are always short-lived. Unfortunately, it seems that “most Albertans” does not include the members of this administration.

Albertans want, and deserve, government with a strong commitment to doing the hard work of governing – careful analysis of short and long term risks and benefits of investments in our people, business and environment; balanced and responsible development of resources, and, especially now in this economic downturn, investment in infrastructure and green technology, that will serve us well into the future.

This isn’t going to be easy. But forward-looking, imaginative leadership isn’t about making the easy choices. It’s about making the right choices.

That takes courage, entrepreneurial spirit, and a bolder vision of healthy communities– with policy to back it up, to account not only our own needs, but those of future generations.

My Vision
Government should always be working for the health of Alberta. Economic health, environmental health, physical health, health of our public institutions, programs and services – all of these things contribute to our quality of life, our competitiveness, our social wellbeing. As a physician, I know from experience that good health is the result of many, many factors. As a politician, I want to lead a government that recognizes and addresses all the factors that create a healthy Alberta. Healthy communities are the source of our security, our social wellbeing and our future. We must recognize our mutual interdependence and honour our own diversity. Only then can we build a truly healthy Alberta.

Business, too, has played and will continue to play a huge role in our quality of life. Freedom for business to thrive is vital. My father worked in the oil patch, and I know the contributions he and his business made to Alberta. Business taxes fuel our hospitals and schools. Businesses provide jobs and training, research and development. And business will be our most important partner in the crucial work of diversifying Alberta’s economy, especially with regard to green technology. Innovation and entrepreneurship are essential fuel for our journey forward.

I believe in fairness to future generations. For too long, governments in Alberta have embraced short-term goals, cutting programs in bad times, spending exorbitantly in good times, without a thought given to long-term consequences.

This shortsightedness is an abdication of this generation’s first duty to the next: to provide a lasting legacy that our children and grandchildren can be proud of.

The next generation has the same desire for prosperity as we do; the same need for clean air, water and land; the same fundamental right to a vibrant democracy; the same urge to live and grow and learn and to reach their full potential. 

Those aspirations cannot be met if we squander today’s opportunities. So much has already been lost; think of the nonrenewable resource revenues we failed to save.

Our duty is to leave a social, environmental, and economic legacy that our grandchildren will be grateful for. The gift of fossil fuels is finite, but their legacy need not be, if only we start saving now.

Alberta’s interests are not served by this aging, tired, caretaker administration. We see now what happens when career politicians bound by ideology are in power past their best-before date.
What Alberta needs is leadership. Leadership that will bring smart, hard-working government to Alberta. Leadership that will make the tough, ethical choices Alberta needs to build our future. Leadership that believes in honesty and transparency and fair dealing. Leadership that doesn’t play silly political games or intimidate Albertans with different views. Leadership that applies thoughtful, careful scientific and ethical analysis of issues of public policy.

Leadership that truly understands that the decisions we made today have incredible impacts on our children and grandchildren. Leadership that looks beyond the next election.

Mr. Speaker, Alberta could be so much greater. With real leadership, we could help build a sustainable future not only for this province, not only for this country, but for the world.
We have the resources, we have the people, we have the infrastructure – what we need is the vision. A bold vision that calls upon Albertans to work toward something greater than a resource-based economy of boom and bust. A vision that demands higher aspirations. A vision that transforms Alberta from stewards of oil and gas into a sustainable energy superpower, and even more: a diversified, sustainable economy, one free of the turmoil of boom and bust, with a clean environment, healthy citizens, and the best health care, the best education system, the best transportation networks and a thriving arts and culture sector.

That leadership is on its way, Mr. Speaker. For now, Albertans can only be astonished by the incredible shortcomings of an administration long past its prime.

This Administration: Unfit to Govern
This administration’s colossal failure to anticipate and prepare for tough times shows that they are not true and faithful stewards of the public good. It shows that they do not have the wisdom, the foresight, or the character to manage this province’s finances.

Mr. Speaker, this administration is unfit to govern. They have sacrificed the birthright of Alberta’s children and grandchildren for the sake of taking the easy path. They have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. They have spent our natural capital, leaving no interest for tomorrow.

They have crippled our future, Mr. Speaker. They have sacrificed tomorrow for their own selfish ends.

They are unfit to govern.

They are unfit to govern.

They are unfit to govern!

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