Alberta’s new finance minister and president of the treasury board Joe Ceci is asking the public to provide comments and ideas for the 2015 and 2016 budgets.
The government has established a website – budget.alberta.ca – for Albertans to provide submissions until 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 14.
In addition, Ceci will meet with businesses, organizations and stakeholders in August and September to discuss how to innovate and diversify the economy and protect important public services.
“I want to hear Albertans’ thoughts and ideas on how the government can improve their quality of life and build our economy,” he said. “These discussions will help outline both this year’s and next year’s budgets to better reflect the priorities of all Albertans as we move forward.”
Cabinet members will also meet with a cross-section of stakeholders, including agriculture, forestry, oil and gas, the non-profit sector and Aboriginal leaders to gather feedback on the upcoming budget.
Typically, Alberta’s annual government budget is passed in spring, however, after the NDP party was elected, Premier Rachel Notley tasked Ceci with seeking public input on the budget, which will be released after the legislature resumes at the end of October.
The government held true to its promise to reverse cuts to education and health care as well as raise corporate taxes and income taxes on high wage earners. It has also had to deal with low oil prices that are currently under $50 a barrel U.S.
The government has announced it plans to hold two telephone town halls early in September and more details about those will be released at a later date.
