Member Since: 8/13/2012
Posts: 32,832
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No help from Ottawa as Alberta’s economy devastated
Quote:
The oil-price crash that is causing a major pullback in energy investment is also stirring plenty of worry in oil-revenue dependent Canadian governments.
But while top oil-producing provinces such as Alberta are in full damage-control mode, the federal government is taking the oil shock in stride.
In a speech in Calgary Thursday, federal finance minister Joe Oliver was sympathetic to Alberta’s predicament, noting the price crash is the third-largest in four decades.
As for the impact on Canada, he said Ottawa remains on track to balance its budget after years of deficit spending triggered by the global recession. He said there are no plans to increase taxes.
“We have created a system in Alberta where we have high dependency on higher oil prices to drive our revenue model and our expenses, and Canada has a much more diversified revenue picture,” he said. “At the end of the day, while Alberta needs to get some spending in line, our biggest issue is that we have a revenue problem.”
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http://business.financialpost.com/20..._lsa=4f88-0e46
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