Western Standard - Alberta Ends Fiscal Year with $4.3 Billion Surplus

00:00:00.000 Thank you.

00:00:30.000 good morning i'm pleased to present alberta's results for the fiscal year ending march 31st

00:00:39.280 2024. last year was another remarkable year for our province's economy we marked solid growth

00:00:45.760 while facing incredible challenges with new opportunities for prosperity for every alberton

00:00:51.200 i'm happy to say that for the third consecutive year we balanced the provincial budget and reported

00:00:56.160 a surplus of 4.3 billion that is roughly 1.9 billion more than was projected in the 2023 budget

00:01:03.840 this was no small feat our province and our economy are directly impacted by global uncertainties

00:01:09.920 fluctuating oil prices and increased risk for natural disasters and emergencies but alberta

00:01:16.080 was a beacon of opportunity amongst the challenges that face governments across canada and around the

00:01:21.200 world we provided the highest ever funding to health care and ensured our children had access

00:01:26.640 to the best teachers and schools kept albertans and communities safe during last year's record

00:01:31.920 breaking wildfire season and supported farmers as they faced drought conditions throughout the

00:01:36.800 province we provided targeted relief payments that went to families seniors and vulnerable groups

00:01:42.560 to help with the high cost of living plus we indexed personal income taxes and social support

00:01:48.080 programs alberta's tax advantage is being maintained as well with new legislation that

00:01:53.840 guarantees albertans and businesses won't see their income tax rates rise without approval

00:01:58.560 through a referendum and still beyond supporting these important priorities and programs for

00:02:03.760 albertans we repaid maturing debt and put aside meaningful savings that will create prosperity

00:02:09.360 for our kids and grandkids alberta broke population growth records in 2023 56 000 people from other

00:02:17.520 parts of canada chose to come to alberta in 2023 and another 113 000 moved here from around the

00:02:24.560 world that's like adding another red deer and another fort mcmurray to our province we have

00:02:30.800 good jobs good wages low taxes and more opportunity than other provinces employment grew 3.6 percent

00:02:38.080 in alberta last calendar year exceeding the national growth rate of 2.4 percent alberta

00:02:44.240 gained 85 000 new jobs mostly in full-time and in the private sector in fact nearly 90

00:02:50.960 of the private sector jobs created across canada in the last six months were here in alberto

00:02:56.640 but we know that rapid population growth has brought challenges

00:03:01.200 rapid population growth has put pressure on government programs services and infrastructure

00:03:06.800 and also fueled strong demand for housing that drove up house prices and rents rising interest

00:03:13.280 rates and the price of groceries to put pressure on alberta households in 2023 through it all our

00:03:19.280 government has stepped up to meet the needs of albertans and as responsible stewards of albertus

00:03:24.000 finances we are building long-term economic sustainability and stability for our children

00:03:29.520 and grandchildren in the 2023-2024 fiscal year revenue was 74.7 billion and expense was 70.4

00:03:38.400 billion leaving us with a 4.3 billion dollar surplus as i mentioned before the surplus is 1.9

00:03:45.360 billion more than we estimated in budget 2023 supported by narrower light heavy oil differential

00:03:52.720 record oil production and more people and businesses moving to and investing in our province

00:03:58.720 in terms of revenue alberta's strong labor market drove up personal income tax revenue

00:04:04.480 even after we index rates to inflation to keep more money in alberta's pockets

00:04:09.440 corporate income taxes continue to be solid while we maintain the lowest rate in the country

00:04:15.040 this proves alberta's low tax environment is key to economic growth and activity we are making our

00:04:21.760 province a destination of choice and possibility non-renewable resource revenues came in higher

00:04:27.520 than predicted a budget as a result of a narrower light heavy differential and a lower exchange rate

00:04:34.160 the price of oil landed at an average of 77.83 us per barrel of wti we are committed to albertans

00:04:43.920 and will continue to consider the best options to help reduce costs for taxpayers

00:04:49.040 by carefully considering each spending decision today we keep our finances on track and sustainable

00:04:56.000 expense in 23 24 was 70.4 billion this was higher than forecast in budget 2023

00:05:03.360 mainly due to helping albertans with the impacts of wildfires floods and severe drought we provided

00:05:09.680 three billion in disaster and emergency funds this included 851 million to fight wildfire

00:05:16.880 another 1.9 billion in agricultural support went to producers farmers and ranchers devastated by

00:05:23.120 the drought the second they have faced in three years significant investments were made in the

00:05:28.240 healthcare system improving primary care supporting our superb health workforce and keeping patients

00:05:33.920 at the center of everything we do in addition support was provided to address enrollment growth

00:05:39.040 in alberta schools and boost learning supports for the most vulnerable students we built

00:05:44.240 apprenticeship opportunities in post-secondary institutions so more young people can consider

00:05:48.880 the trades and we spent 6.3 billion dollars on our capital plan in 23 24. building alberta

00:05:56.400 supports jobs and attracts skilled workers expanding our roads and bridges opens up local

00:06:01.840 economies and grows communities more schools modernized hospitals art and rec centers all

00:06:07.760 these facilities help keep alberta vibrant and thriving after final calculations and adjustments

00:06:13.680 we ended the year with 7.3 billion in surplus cash including 5.3 billion from 22 2022 2023

00:06:22.720 This always sounds like a huge amount, and indeed it is.

00:06:26.260 But without careful planning, that cash can all too quickly disappear.

00:06:30.520 That is why we continue to stick to our fiscal framework to guide our decisions.

00:06:35.040 As mandated in that framework, we're allocating half or $3.7 billion of the surplus cash to debt repayment.

00:06:42.420 Our focus plan allowed us to pay $1.7 billion in debt in 23-24

00:06:47.480 and will enable us to use an additional $2 billion in cash from 2023-2024 to repay debt in 2024-2025.

00:06:55.740 Of the remaining $3.7 billion in surplus cash that is allocated to the Alberta Fund,

00:07:01.280 $2 billion will be deposited in the Heritage Fund in 2024-2025.

00:07:06.440 This will grow the Heritage Fund to around $25 billion.

00:07:10.560 And year over year, as we retain all investment earnings in the fund,

00:07:13.920 instead of transferring them out for general revenue we will continue to see progress

00:07:19.680 taxpayers supported debt was 81.8 billion as of march 31st 2024 2.5 billion higher than in 2023

00:07:28.880 and debt servicing costs were 3.1 billion in 2023-2024 as communicated in budget 24 there was

00:07:37.040 a strategic decision to pre-borrow 4.3 billion this past year for significant debt maturities

00:07:42.880 that came due in a short period in early 24-25. These funds are being set aside in a debt retirement

00:07:49.680 account and cannot be used for any other purpose. Costs like these are why we remain committed to

00:07:54.800 pay down debt whenever possible and keep those costs from escalating even higher.

00:08:00.000 Overall net financial debt is $41.4 billion in 23-24, an improvement of $4.3 billion from

00:08:07.520 the prior year. Alberta continues to be the least indebted province in the country.

00:08:12.880 While today's focus is on looking back, it's important to emphasize that with every choice our government makes, we are building a better future for Alberta.

00:08:21.480 Our Premier has promised we will grow the Heritage Fund to between $250 billion and $400 billion by 2050, which will transform the Heritage Fund into a source of intergenerational wealth and prosperity.

00:08:34.040 Through wise investments, we intend to share more of today's good fortunes with future generations.

00:08:39.400 Our economy and our government's fiscal position are strong, and we will support both.

00:08:44.220 This will continue to earn us credit rating upgrades that provide us lower borrowing costs

00:08:48.760 and more money for the things that matter to Albertans.

00:08:51.880 It will help us maintain our tax advantage to continue to attract investors and more jobs.

00:08:57.620 It will continue to draw people to Alberta as the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

00:09:03.200 We will continue to be the economic engine of Canada with a resilient economy

00:09:07.340 that can face any challenges down the line. Thank you, and I'm happy to take any questions.

00:09:14.060 Thank you, Minister. We'll start with questions on the floor, and then we'll move to the phone.

00:09:19.840 Please, as you ask your question, identify your name, which outlet you're from, and we will go

00:09:24.880 with one question and one follow-up. So we'll start on the floor. The big takeaway for a lot

00:09:32.760 people have seen the headlines today will see 4.3 billion dollar surplus or 7.3 cash surplus

00:09:38.920 and yet they won't be feeling any benefit as a result of that so i guess in the simplest and

00:09:42.680 most succinct way i guess explain why the money was spent the way it was and why it was put towards

00:09:47.480 anything in terms of affordability measures for albert well i think if if you go back to the

00:09:52.840 first time i got to answer questions you folks said a year ago um i think the surplus at that

00:09:58.200 time was predicted to be 2.2 billion and at that time oil was below forecast and I think the

00:10:04.180 questions I was getting at that time were what are you going to cut and I said you know first

00:10:09.560 quarter is usually an outlier let's get further into the year and understand where we sit but

00:10:14.820 with our fiscal framework it provides a lot of rigidity around the decisions that we make around

00:10:20.620 budget so it provides upside for the province when some of these sensitivities go in our favor

00:10:26.580 whether that's wti or the exchange rate and with the fiscal framework in place it allows us to

00:10:33.060 ensure that that upside goes to things that will benefit all albertans now and in the future which

00:10:38.100 is either savings debt repayment or a one-time spend that doesn't drive the operating line

00:10:45.780 so i think the answer is by by forecasting prudently budgeting prudently that is the

00:10:51.380 biggest advantage for real burdens today and tomorrow just as a follow-up slightly unrelated

00:10:56.260 to today's update but i just want to ask about the fuel tax will there be any i know wti i think

00:11:00.980 after last night looking around 84 84 so i guess just in terms of any changes that we can expect

00:11:05.780 and any relief at the pump ahead of july 1st i believe i haven't checked in a couple hours but

00:11:10.340 i think wti is at about 81.70 today the average for the monitoring period coming up for july

00:11:18.340 July 1st was about $77.80, so there will be no relief coming July 1st.

00:11:27.060 Go ahead, Catherine.

00:11:28.300 Sure, so Catherine Kowalski, Alberta Today.

00:11:30.380 So compared to 2022-23, revenue was down $1.4 billion, but spending was up $5.9 billion.

00:11:41.360 So if this continues, it's going to be pretty tough to stick to that no deficit.

00:11:48.340 requirement for the fiscal framework so what do you think has to change I think

00:11:53.740 prudent prudent budgeting going forward as we showed in the out years we're

00:11:57.520 still predicting surpluses in the out years and so we'll monitor that new

00:12:02.200 information going forward obviously there will be pressures with population

00:12:06.580 growth like we're seeing but we are seeing increases in personal income tax

00:12:12.020 as well as very stable corporate income tax line so it'll all have to be assessed

00:12:17.920 as we roll into the next budget and in in the uh you had mentioned the alberta heritage savings

00:12:25.040 trust fund and i know um coming up in the fall you're looking at some new rules for that the

00:12:30.480 premier has said um there's a potential to use that fund to de-risk investments but i'm wondering

00:12:38.000 how how do you grow to uh that 250 to 400 billion dollar mark if you're spending to de-risk

00:12:46.880 investments so the private sector doesn't want to touch well i look forward to being able to

00:12:51.120 communicate a little more openly in the fall when we unveil our plan and strategy but i would say

00:12:56.000 that for this to be successful it has to be a return seeking endeavor that has to be the bottom

00:13:01.840 line highest highest and best governance around the world and return seeking

00:13:09.680 graham thompson at the star just to follow up on that so then the province will be then using the

00:13:15.760 the trust fund to, as the Premier said, assist in re-risking, sorry, re-risking projects.

00:13:22.740 So that's something you ought to do. You'll be using the trust fund, as the Premier pointed out

00:13:27.120 a few days ago. It's my expectation, and like I said, I'll be able to communicate this more

00:13:33.780 clearly in the fall, is that the fund will have to be return-seeking. That wouldn't preclude it

00:13:39.160 from investing in Alberta in a strategic way, potentially, but it has to be return-seeking.

00:13:44.660 highest highest government's best rate of return that's still a risk then so you're saying

00:13:50.020 the fund right now does do investments but with the premier talking about them potentially

00:13:55.340 then investing in alberta is the risk you're putting too many eggs in one basket then with

00:14:00.460 the fund well i think that would be a question for the the management of the fund at the time

00:14:05.900 which will become a lot more clear graham as we roll into the fall but like i said it has to be

00:14:10.840 return seeking that's the bottom line yeah supplementaries i do supplementary um something

00:14:16.760 i asked i've asked you before i've asked previous finance ministers going back decades um but more

00:14:22.360 recently there's been talk of course when um tapes was the finance minister about a panel

00:14:29.240 panel looking at revenue you know you're looking at cutting back in 2019 revenue the panel looking

00:14:36.200 at that you know we're on this roller coaster still not the roller coaster are you looking then

00:14:41.000 actually putting together a blue ribbon panel looking at revenue for alberta i think it would

00:14:45.800 be a good idea for alberta to do that at some point in the future i don't have any concrete

00:14:50.440 plans to do that uh in in this mandate but i would point to the fact that we we constantly do it as a

00:14:57.000 as a department and a government i would point to some of the increases that you saw in budget 24

00:15:02.280 maybe specifically around land titles thanks we'll go to the phones for a couple questions

00:15:06.920 we'll come back to the floor operator can you please put through the first color

00:15:11.720 thank you the first question from rick bell from post media please go ahead come on it's open um

00:15:19.960 good day minister i want to go back to sort of a variation of the first question that was asked

00:15:25.080 here today um so it looks like there's not going to be a break on the fuel tax i think you said

00:15:31.080 that just to be clear if you could reiterate that and there's uh obviously not going to be an income

00:15:37.160 tax cut yet and you're talking about all these wonderful things that are happening to the economy

00:15:44.040 but a lot of people aren't feeling it uh because i don't really care how many people have ontario

00:15:49.640 plates moving to calgary or how many people from bc are flipping their houses and moving to alberta

00:15:54.600 So what do you tell people when they say, where is our tangible benefit, personal tangible benefit to all of this wonderful economic news?

00:16:11.700 Okay, well, I'll start at the beginning on fuel tax.

00:16:15.420 You know, we've got the legislation in place.

00:16:18.320 I think it's a very defensible program.

00:16:21.040 If you follow along, when oil, when WTI does break 80 for the monitoring period that's leading up to the change on the quarter, that relief will come on automatically.

00:16:34.240 So although we're over 80 today, you know, going out three months past July 1st, it may very well be there.

00:16:41.320 And like I said, that's defensible because when oil is that high, we know that we're going to make it back on the royalty side.

00:16:48.340 And it means that that's when fuel prices are logically the highest, when oil is high.

00:16:53.620 When it comes to tangible benefits for Albertans, I think the point of the fiscal framework is that in the good and decent years, we don't waste it.

00:17:05.100 We don't ratchet up spending and then see oil go down to $45 and bring forward a $30 billion deficit.

00:17:11.440 So this is about stability for Albertans who do enjoy the lowest taxes and highest wages in the country, and as the stats show, the most opportunity.

00:17:22.700 Do you have a follow-up, Rick?

00:17:24.620 Yes, I do.

00:17:25.940 So just to be clear, sort of a two-part supplementary one, just to be clear, the fuel tax, there is no fuel tax break coming July 1.

00:17:35.100 And number two, people are still, many, many people are still, you know, the Alberta Advantage that I remember from 20 years ago has largely disappeared.

00:17:48.780 The affordability is not there anymore.

00:17:51.360 We have rents going up.

00:17:53.220 We have people having difficulty paying mortgages, all of the things that you see.

00:17:57.220 I mean, what do you say to those people who are struggling with affordability issues even here?

00:18:08.920 Because they don't want to hear about the GDP, as X, Y, Z, or so many people are moving to Alberta.

00:18:13.500 That's not them.

00:18:14.280 They are living here already, and they already have a job, but they're still finding it hard to make ends meet.

00:18:19.960 And could you clarify whether the fuel tax is on or off come July 1?

00:18:24.600 So to be totally clear, there will be no change in the fuel tax July 1st.

00:18:31.560 And what I would say to those Albertans is I understand and get it and see it.

00:18:37.920 I know that there's challenges, but I think coming back to our job and role as government

00:18:46.340 is to ensure that we can keep the advantages that we have going forward.

00:18:52.820 easy for some governments to turn to taxes and want to raise taxes to expand services

00:19:01.160 and spending. We're committed to not doing that. So that means that we have to be prudent

00:19:06.620 in how we budget and forecast. And if there is upside, it does help Albertans. You saw

00:19:11.620 the credit rating upgrades that we've seen over the last years, driving down our cost

00:19:17.360 of borrowing. We're trying to manage that debt responsibly while investing in the Heritage

00:19:21.700 fund and you see our net debt position is improving even though we're pre-borrowing to deal with these

00:19:27.140 large debt stacks that are maturing this year and the big stack in 25. so this is about sustainability

00:19:34.580 and being stable going forward thank you operator can you put through the next caller thank you the

00:19:41.300 next question is from don braid from calgary herald please go ahead your line is open minister uh

00:19:50.020 about last december uh you and the premier started talking about deficits you said there was going to

00:19:56.260 be danger of deficits and then we found out that there wasn't going to be any income tax break

00:20:03.060 this year after all even though it was your absolute fine post-provinson promise in the

00:20:07.620 election and there was never anything said about phasing it in happen 26 and the rest in 27.

00:20:14.340 i wonder how you justify that now when you're sitting on a 4.2 billion surplus and projections

00:20:20.740 of surpluses into the future as well smaller but who knows that could be huge uh it looks to me

00:20:28.340 like after the election's over you just didn't want to spend this money minister what do you say

00:20:33.060 well i'd say it's important to differentiate between looking back at the year that we're just

00:20:38.260 in and when i talked to you in december uh mr braid i was speaking specifically about the

00:20:42.820 challenges of budget 24 which were challenging so if you take all things being equal if i would

00:20:48.740 have brought in the the promised tax cut that we will bring in in its entirety at in budget 2024

00:20:57.460 we would have ran around a 1.1 billion dollar deficit which i can't do thanks to the fiscal

00:21:04.500 framework and prudent planning do you have a follow-up i yes my understanding is that the cost

00:21:12.580 of uh the program would have been about 1.5 billion a year you've got a 4.2 billion dollar

00:21:18.980 surplus so i don't see how spending that in the sense of not collecting tax would uh lead you

00:21:25.620 into a deficit so you're you're imagining a scenario where it would have been brought in

00:21:30.980 in budget 2023 then i would suggest on and so that that didn't happen and i was forced to deal with

00:21:38.740 you know the realities of 20 of 23 24 but looking forward into budget 24 which you're right it's

00:21:46.740 about 1.4 billion um the total hit to the tax cut so like i said in budget 24 it would have been a

00:21:54.420 1.1 billion dollar deficit thank you operator we'll take one more from the phones we'll come

00:21:59.700 back to the floor but i would just add nobody wants to bring in the tax cut more than me

00:22:04.260 more than the premier and if if things change and we're able to accelerate that timeline

00:22:09.860 i will be the first uh be the first to put that on the floor go ahead operator thank you the next

00:22:18.260 question is from carrie tate from the global mail please go ahead your line is open hi thanks for

00:22:24.180 for taking my question minister the spending um in the last year ended up increasing by about nine

00:22:31.540 percent um as sort of the government managed this population increase and inflation how do you given

00:22:40.260 that that big jump in spending how do you plan to contain it in the future well i think it's

00:22:47.140 important to look at the actual operational spend increases that you see in the budgets

00:22:51.620 um so in budget 24 i think our our average operational increase was uh 3.9 percent even

00:22:59.940 though we increased um health and education by 4.4 percent this is budget 2024 i'm talking looking

00:23:06.740 forward but when you're looking back at this year um obviously three billion dollars in disaster

00:23:12.900 spending makes a big difference um as i mentioned in my in my speech about 850 million spent on

00:23:21.140 fighting the wildfire but the wildfire the total cost was support to evacuees and disaster relief

00:23:28.820 programs is about 1.1 billion and then about 1.9 billion in crop insurance indemnities and topping

00:23:36.100 up the fund so i think important to really differentiate those things you have a follow-up

00:23:44.340 yeah thank you so in light of sort of looking at that three billion dollars for disaster relief

00:23:49.460 is that to say that the government views the disaster um the contingency spend that

00:23:53.860 type of thing as one-off or as rather something that will come up every year just perhaps in

00:24:00.340 different form well i i don't think you want the contingency is not just meant to be for disaster

00:24:08.500 spending it's meant to be a voted fund that government can use to deal with other pressures

00:24:15.540 as well that this was a challenging year to have a wildfire bill that high coupled with needing to

00:24:22.420 prop up the crop insurance fund so i i would like to look at this as an anomaly but it is part of

00:24:29.140 the rationale for increasing the contingency to 2 billion in budget 2024 we want to make sure that

00:24:35.220 we have have room to respond thank you we'll go to the floor uh one last time and then we'll return

00:24:42.740 to the phones. Go ahead, Emmanuel. Hi, Emmanuel. We're talking a lot about population growth in

00:24:50.980 Alberta. These thousands of people are an increase in revenue for the province, but also an increase

00:24:57.220 in expenses for health care and education. When you isolate these new people, is Alberta spending

00:25:02.580 money on them or making money out of them? Well, it would be my estimation, and some of that is

00:25:08.020 really lagging data but it takes time even when someone comes buys a house gets a job it kind of

00:25:15.460 takes takes time to get tethered to the job market it takes time to be in the cycle to

00:25:21.620 pay your taxes here so there's about an 18-month lag we do think that it will be a positive does

00:25:29.700 cause real challenges in the short term your fault and your key objectives you want alberta to have

00:25:36.980 resilient economy but in the annual report it acknowledges that alberta relies heavily on

00:25:42.820 revenues that's volatile and unpredictable so how can you reconcile these two realities

00:25:49.700 well i'd say we definitely want a diversified resilient economy and that that is happening

00:25:54.660 here you just have to look at aerospace technology value-added agri-food production but

00:26:02.100 But in reality, the great opportunity and benefit for Albertans has always been our oil and gas royalties.

00:26:11.420 So when you have something that's that dramatic, $17 billion, $19 billion,

00:26:18.920 that correlates almost directly with the tax advantages that Alberta sees over the next closest province.

00:26:26.380 So it's an opportunity.

00:26:28.400 It's a challenge.

00:26:29.140 It's volatile.

00:26:30.080 You mentioned there's things that are out of our control.

00:26:32.100 but it's it's also a wonderful benefit we'll take one more from the floor just a quick one

00:26:38.420 just explaining the difference between the 4.3 surplus and then the seven ish cash surplus just

00:26:46.240 for people to understand the difference yes so there's there is a difference so the the overall

00:26:51.880 4.3 billion dollar surplus is our accounting surplus that takes into account you know

00:26:58.460 accounting changes that may be non-cash for example the provision on the sturgeon refinery

00:27:07.180 is what really changed the surplus from third quarter to the actuals now but that's non-cash

00:27:13.900 so it didn't impact our cash and with oil slightly higher our cash actually increased

00:27:18.700 from third quarter so when you're looking at the net side you have to look at the retained earnings

00:27:24.300 in the heritage fund the endowment funds all of the other things that are part of alberta's

00:27:28.460 consolidated balance sheet but cash is very different and then recognizing alberta's ongoing

00:27:33.740 reliance on oil how difficult is it for us finance minister to i mean premier talks about it a lot to

00:27:38.460 ride that oil roller coaster revenue when you're trying to future plan well i think i think the

00:27:44.380 importance is and it is the other finance ministers tell me that this is the toughest job in the

00:27:49.740 country because of that but i think it's it's also a great opportunity and but i think you do have to

00:27:56.620 have very prudent forecasting and i think you have to have conservative forecasting i know i was

00:28:02.780 asked at the budget are we conservative enough and you know i said that we use industry forecasters

00:28:08.620 and we try to be in the bottom half or bottom third just to ensure that there is that potential

00:28:13.820 upside because the downside is unavoidable any more from the floor we'll take one more from

00:28:21.580 the phone operator can you put through our last caller thank you next question is jackie

00:28:28.780 carmichael from edmonton journal please go ahead your line is open okay um if the ucp government

00:28:37.580 is going to be tucking away almost four billion dollars in two years into the heritage fund

00:28:43.820 At a time when hikes in interest rates, have the government also stressing the need to retire debt.

00:28:50.000 Why not put that money into retiring provincial debt?

00:28:57.080 Great question, and I'm glad you asked it, Jackie.

00:28:59.980 So I think it's important, in my view, to look at the net position when you have the Heritage Fund in its current form averaging 7% and 8% over a 10-year term with netted costs out.

00:29:17.060 And you look at our average debt costs currently, it's a benefit to all burdens.

00:29:22.440 Our plan is to even make that difference even more dramatic going forward.

00:29:28.800 So we want prudent management on the debt side to drive down our costs of borrowing, and we want to see increased returns on the heritage fund side.

00:29:37.340 And I would equate it, trying to make it relatable.

00:29:42.240 You know, you have RSPs, but you also have a mortgage on your house.

00:29:47.360 In many instances, I doubt you would cash out your RSPs to pay off your mortgage.

00:29:52.840 So it makes sense for the net benefit of the province.

00:29:56.520 credit rating agencies love it they're really only concerned about the net position and they

00:30:03.200 they love the fiscal framework i was in the states last week it's it's serving us well

00:30:09.320 you have a follow-up jackie yeah um the the term taxpayer supported debt of 81.8 billion

00:30:18.800 can you explain the difference what that figure entails right so that that is the the debt as

00:30:29.620 as it as it says that is supported by taxpayers we also have debt that we take on on behalf of

00:30:37.200 municipalities and airports but it's it's offset because you know they're they're paying us back

00:30:44.680 but they're using our borrowing power at the capital markets.

00:30:47.780 So that's a real difference, and I believe it's at around $17 billion right now, the on-lending.

00:30:59.120 Thank you. Operator, just confirming there are no more callers in the queue?

00:31:03.740 No more questions, no.

00:31:06.400 Thank you. That concludes our press conference.

00:31:08.720 Do you have some time off this summer?

00:31:09.820 Not yet, but I'm hoping to be at Calgary Stampede and hopefully get a little time with the family.

00:31:18.440 Did you guys get all you need?

00:31:20.760 I was just going to ask just as a follow-up.

00:31:22.280 You said that if things change in terms of accelerating a timeline for the tax cut,

00:31:27.060 I guess like looking into the crystal ball, and obviously we don't know what could happen,

00:31:29.720 but what would perhaps oil need to be?

00:31:31.820 Like what would need to change?

00:31:32.960 What would the surplus need to look like in the next day quarterly update in order for you to accelerate that timeline?

00:31:36.820 Well, it would be a combination of where the revenue is going and where our expenses are going.

00:31:41.240 So part of the challenge right now is we haven't even received our first quarter submissions from the ministries.

00:31:46.300 So you really have to take that in balance.

00:31:49.320 But if there's room, you know, I think we publicly said that we would bring it forward and legislate it in budget 25

00:31:55.360 and then bring it in to 9% in 26, 8% in 27.

00:32:00.700 If we can accelerate that, we will.

00:32:02.480 Time for the election.

00:32:03.440 I got a Sturgeon refinery question though, because overall it's a good thing when the

00:32:17.880 oil price differential narrows, but it looks a whole lot worse when it comes to Sturgeon

00:32:24.040 refinery.

00:32:25.040 How do you feel when you see the changes and the boondoggle of that just get worse and

00:32:30.560 worse?

00:32:31.560 DeLorean and I could go back to 2009 when they started talking about this I

00:32:36.060 think I'd give some sage advice but we continue to try to to make it better on

00:32:40.980 behalf of Albertans it is it is a hedge in some ways against against oil prices

00:32:47.340 it works best when diesels high and inputs are low but yeah it continues to

00:32:54.000 be monitored

00:33:01.560 You

Western Standard - June 28, 2024

Alberta Ends Fiscal Year with $4.3 Billion Surplus

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