Fiscal Accountability
February 8, 2010
Mrs. Forsyth: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Late last week the Premier issued new mandate letters to a shuffled cabinet, but one thing that seemed to be missing from these mandate letters was true accountability. The government of British Columbia announced that if the provincial budget was not balanced, then 10 per cent of the ministerial salary goes back to the taxpayers. My question is to the minister of finance. If the government of Alberta continues to run deficits, will the Premier and his cabinet demonstrate real leadership and real accountability and hold themselves personally and financially accountable?
The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Finance and Enterprise.
Dr. Morton: Mr. Speaker, I’d remind the hon. member that we’ve already done that. She actually was a member of the party when that decision was made.
Mrs. Forsyth: Mr. Speaker, I’m not even going to answer that. Mr. Speaker, last year the government pushed through a 35 per cent pay increase. Then the government turns to front-line agencies that help people with developmental disabilities and pressures them to break their contracts. My question is to the Minister of Seniors and Community Supports. How could she accept a 35 per cent pay increase but try to force some very lean service providers to accept another broken contract in December?
Mrs. Jablonski: Mr. Speaker, we were looking for some savings, and we work with our PDD community boards because the funding that we have is distributed through the community boards to our agencies, to our families, and to our clients. By working with our community boards and our agencies and our families, we were looking for ways to be efficient and to have some savings. At the same time there were no vital services cut to any of our PDD clients.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Mrs. Forsyth: That’s not the case. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Albertans watch this government continue to break contracts and their word. It’s hard to believe that this government could not find 1 per cent in their administrative budget to honour these signed PDD contracts. Will the minister show real leadership and find 1 per cent in her own administrative budget to protect PDD agencies?
Mrs. Jablonski: Mr. Speaker, all PDD contracts were honoured. Only contracts that were agreed to were altered, and we have found the savings within administration and with the help of stakeholders, families, and service agencies.
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