Budget continues reckless spending spree: Cooper

The provincial budget is taking Albertans down an even more dangerous financial path than ever, according to Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper.

The NDP government brought down its third straight deficit budget Thursday (March 16).

"I think Albertans should be pretty concerned about the continued direction of this government. If they are concerned about debt and deficit there's lots to be concerned about," Cooper told the Albertan. "By the end of this government's term in 2019-20, the province will be $71 billion in debt.

"Just this year alone there's a projected deficit of $10.3 billion and when we reach $71 billion of debt in 2020, the debt servicing costs alone will be $2.3 billion. That's a lot of money that could be put towards roads, hospitals and other infrastructure that will just go to servicing debt."

Among the announcements, the province confirmed it's implementing a tuition freeze for post-secondary students. That would include students attending Olds College.

It also confirmed a reduction of up to 25 per cent in school fees, something Cooper said the Wildrose Party has advocated as well.

The government also announced plans to spend $14.5 million to hire 35 Crown prosecutors plus 30 support staff to address concerns that cases are being dropped due to a lack of resources.

Cooper said his party has advocated for that as well.

"But obviously, when you're spending tax dollars, these things are about choices, and the government has continued to spend in basically every area," he said.

"They've said on numerous occasions that they're bending the spending curve (downward), but we're certainly not seeing that and in this budget; there's no evidence of them bending the cost curve," he added.

"And that's what I mean when it comes to government spending is about priorities. And sometimes that means you need to reduce other areas of the budget so that you can spend in areas like health care or justice."