The Alberta Advantage?
What do Albertans want? Easterners can be forgiven for wondering that at times. After all, the economy is booming, and we have the lowest income tax rate in the country. Yet Premier Klein’s time in power has been marked by public protests over government funding cuts in areas such as education and healthcare. Whether it’s teachers manning the picket lines or ordinary citizens storming the legislature, Albertans have made their displeasure clear.
Now of course, the storm has passed. With the goal of paying off the debt within reach (two years provided energy prices remain high), the government is set to go on a spending spree. Education, healthcare, transportation - all will receive more money.
So what was all the fuss about? Below is an article I wrote in 1996 on the impact of the education cuts. Unfortunately the magazine that commissioned the article never saw the light of day - left wing publications have a hard time getting funding in ultra-conservative Alberta. However, the article highlights some of the concerns of both parents and educators with the government’s shift in policy. For comparison, at the end you’ll find a link to the Alberta government webpage containing highlights of the 2001 Budget.
The Alberta Advantage?
As Alberta parents know only too well, after his election in June, 1993, Premier Klein wasted little time in wielding the cost-cutting knife. Along with other departments, education was earmarked for "streamlining," and "increasing efficiency": Tory code words for major funding reductions. The Premier quickly proved he was a man of both words and action: the provincial government's Spring, 1994, deficit-smashing budget included a 7.1 percent cut to total education spending.
Nonetheless, nothing but good times lie ahead for Alberta schoolchildren - that is, if you believe a recent publication by the Alberta Department of Education. "Our education system is more accountable and our results are impressive," states Halvar Johnson in the forward to Meeting the Challenge III: Three Year Business Plan for Education, 1996/97 - 1998/99. The former Alberta Education Minister adds that: "We have enhanced our capacity to provide our students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they require to succeed in the twenty-first century."
Such optimism - while only to be expected from the architect of the funding cuts - goes directly against concerns expressed by teachers, parents, and others forced to deal with the effects of Premier Klein's fiscal policies on a daily basis. With one notable exception - Early Childhood Services (ECS) - these concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Often the Premier seems to almost view teachers and school boards as the enemy, with parents their innocent dupes.
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