EDMONTON - Premier Ed Stelmach used a provincewide broadcast Wednesday to warn Albertans of coming budget cuts and belt-tightening measures, starting with a two-year wage freeze for 6,500 senior bureaucrats.
But the 20-minute, paid address was short on specifics as to how the premier will fulfill his promise to eliminate a record $7-billion deficit in three years without raising taxes.
"We'll limit government spending and live within our means," the premier said in the pre-taped message. "This plan will not increase taxes.
"You cannot tax your way out of recession. That would only hurt the fragile recovery that's starting to emerge."
The wage freeze will save $22 million over two years and affects 4,400 managers in all government departments, plus 2,100 senior staff including bureaucrats earning up to $400,000 a year.
"We will be asking the entire public sector to share in this effort," said Stelmach. "For a short while, we must all share in the goal of putting jobs before raises."
But Tom Olsen, a spokesman for the premier, said this does not mean the government plans to legislate wage rollbacks for teachers, nurses and other public-sector workers.
Stelmach is simply sending a signal to their unions that any wage hikes in the short term could result in job cuts because of budget constraints, said Olsen.
The government has previously announced its intention to slash $2 billion from the budget starting next year. These budget cuts were discussed at a recent cabinet retreat, but so far few details have emerged on how this will be achieved.
The premier simply repeated in his broadcast that the government will use $17 billion in savings to cover budget shortfalls.
He said there will be some difficult decisions in the coming months and people shouldn't fear change -- especially in health care.
But much of the address was focused on feel-good messages about the province and the future.
"These are challenging times," he said. "Businesses are hurting."
"Albertans are concerned about their jobs, paying their bills, savings for their kids' education and planning for their retirement and old age."
The premier also revealed details of a capital bond program that will allow investors to know which specific school or hospital project their money is being used to build.
The bonds will go on sale this fall.
