Alberta to host telephone town halls in advance of 2021 budget
The province has invited Albertans to participate in three upcoming telephone town halls as the government prepares its 2021 budget.
All three town halls are scheduled next week from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., by region:
Nov. 30 – communities north of Edmonton.
Dec. 2 – communities in the central region such as Edmonton, Red Deer and those north of Calgary.
Dec. 3 – Calgary and communities in southern Alberta.
An ongoing budget survey, which asks respondents to choose if government should cut spending, increase revenue or both, will close Dec. 4.
Finance Minister Travis Toews, who will participate in the telephone town halls, tabled the province's second-quarter fiscal update last Tuesday and said he saw some hopeful signs moving forward.
"I can't say definitively that our toughest days are behind us but what I can say is we are starting to see signs of some economic recovery, so that is positive," Toews said Tuesday.
WATCH | Alberta Finance Minister Travis Toews gives a run down on the province's finances
In a release, the NDP Opposition called that fiscal update "an overly optimistic picture" of Alberta's economy as it continues to get hit hard by the second wave of COVID-19.
"This update ignores the fiscal and economic realities facing our province," said Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips, the NDP Opposition finance critic, in the release.
"It should show us what this government's done to keep us safe and the economy moving. We don't see any of that in these documents."
Alberta now forecasts a deficit of $21.3 billion at the end of the fiscal year, up from the $24.2-billion deficit reported at the end of the first quarter.
Alberta's 2021 budget will be released February 2021.
