[Delwin]

OK, I just texted her. Just waiting for a reply now.

[Delwin]

The province needs to call on the federal government for funding, the reverse is not true. Alberta's provincial budget should not be subject to the scutiny of the federal government, whereas provinces do need funding from the federal budget so it is their business.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Delwin Delwin:

The province needs to call on the federal government for funding, the reverse is not true. Alberta's provincial budget should not be subject to the scutiny of the federal government, whereas provinces do need funding from the federal budget so it is their business.

I disagree. If it's the govt's business how much I earn or if my deductions are valid, then it's also their business when it comes to the provinces who actually receive money from the fed.
Or to put it another way, if the Natives are expected to be under scrutiny based on govt "handouts", then so should the provinces.

[bootlegga]

Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:

This from the story.

$1:

“We have an experiment like this going on in Alberta right now,” Harper said.

“The Alberta government, the new NDP government, in their first action they are incapable of presenting a budget. They raised taxes … the result is a disaster.

An emergency session prehaps??? Is there a rule they have to take 4 months off.

Your making shit up on the go again Doc, could the Alberta DP's hiding their budget so as to not harm the Beard's chance in the Federal election.

The resulting disaster is the $Billions of investment $ slowly slipping away because there is no guidance from these bozos.

Each year, the provincial government spends 40+ billion dollars - do you have any idea of how much work it takes to figure out that this much goes to a hospital here and that much goes to a bridge there and so on?

As a politician, Harper knows full well how much effort a budget takes and this comment is nothing less than BS. On the flip side, I'm not surprised that you appear to be completely unaware of how much effort goes into developing and then presenting a budget, as it's not something many people truly understand.

I worked with a government department last year and a large part of the ministry spent the better part of three months (January - March) working on the budget and its rollout. I don't know how much time went into it, but I'd guess thousands of man hours at the very least.

Now multiply that effort by 20 some departments and tack on a group of MLAs, ALL of whom have very little government experience and aren't even aware of every program each of the different ministries offers. I don't know what the cost of putting a budget together is, but I'd guess in the 10s of millions of dollars at the least.

When something takes that much time and costs that much, isn't it better to take your time and do it right instead of rushing it?

If Alberta were like any other province in this country and we rotated parties in and out of office instead of allowing generation-length political dynasties, getting a second budget out would be a lot easier process than it is now, simply because every MLA wouldn't have to be trained how to be a Minister and run the government.

The NDP aren't delaying anything - most of them are still learning how to do their job and frankly, I don't want people who don't know anything about their ministries deciding how much should go into road construction or health care or education.

If you don't believe me, remember this, Peter Lougheed didn't present his first budget for almost a year when he was elected back in 1971.

I'm not a supporter of Notley and the NDP, but they have done as much as can be expected under the circumstances. If you want to blame anyone for the lack of a budget, then you should be looking at Jim Prentice, who called an election without passing his. By doing so, he royally screwed Albertans because it will cost us so much to enact another one this fall.

[Delwin]

I agree. This comes at a time with a new government and huge economic changes in the province. It is as if he is saying to the people, "If you just would have stuck with the status quo, all of this could have been avoided." It's partisan interference.

He is just shooting himself in the foot though, he opens the door to attacks from all sides during the election, and you don't really want to trash the will of the people coming into an election.

His own province gave them a mandate, he shouldn't call their decision a disaster.

[OnTheIce]

Delwin Delwin:

I agree. This comes at a time with a new government and huge economic changes in the province. It is as if he is saying to the people, "If you just would have stuck with the status quo, all of this could have been avoided." It's partisan interference.

He is just shooting himself in the foot though, he opens the door to attacks from all sides during the election, and you don't really want to trash the will of the people coming into an election.

His own province gave them a mandate, he shouldn't call their decision a disaster.

According to most, including resident Liberal supporters, this type of action is normal during election campaigns.

Just as it's 'normal' for the Ontario Premier to urge an entire Province to vote a certain way, it's just as normal for the leader of the Country to do so as well.

Delwin Delwin:

That doesn't apply in this case, federal encroachment on provincial jurisdiction was wrong when Harper spoke about it in 2001 and it is wrong now. He is the prime minister and needs to get his nose out of provincial business.

I disagree. Provinces fall under his jurisdiction being the Prime Minister of Canada to which those Provinces are funded billions.

[Delwin]

OK, but he is not arguing line items that both parties are affected by. He is criticizing the decision of the people of Alberta to govern themselves as they see fit. It could very well be legal, but it just seems idiotic to call the decision making of the electorate disastrous in the run up to an election. Kind of like, "Elect me ! I won't be able to work with your premier !"

Really, really stupid move.

[DrCaleb]

Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:

Well it should work for you, you've got a subscription for the Tabloid, it fails on 3 devices I used

Why do you always interject things that you make up into our conversations? Do you think it somehow make your argument stronger?

I used 3 different browsers on each of 3 different machines. All 9 of them worked. You are doing it wrong.

Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:

I get to say it, apples to oranges. Your talking a full year, the $6Billion just borrowed is just to get us through Sept.

And with the books so screwed up by 40 years under the PCs, it was going to take that long to figure out the actual state of the province. $6 Billion in temporary operating costs is really nothing to a province with a $40 Billion operating budget.

The whole budget is here: http://www.assembly.ab.ca/ISYS/LADDAR_f ... ll-003.pdf

Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

The best part about Harper's rant is that he thinks the budget is a 'disaster', one that hasn't even been authored yet because everyone is away on summer holidays. Not partisan at all!

This from the story.

$1:

“We have an experiment like this going on in Alberta right now,” Harper said.

“The Alberta government, the new NDP government, in their first action they are incapable of presenting a budget. They raised taxes … the result is a disaster.

And all of those things he made up. Taxes were only raised by a slight margin, for businesses making over a certain income. And they were brought on par with taxes in the rest of Canada!

Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:

An emergency session prehaps??? Is there a rule they have to take 4 months off.

4 Months? Making shit up again? The interim budget was introduced partly on June 16th.

Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:

Your making shit up on the go again Doc, could the Alberta DP's hiding their budget so as to not harm the Beard's chance in the Federal election.

I might be the only one on this forum that has the actual factual information. Did it slip your mind that I work at Alberta Treasury Board and Finance? We are beginning meetings today to plan for the new Budget next month. That'll be before the federal election, so that shoots your theory all to hell.

And Rachael has shown no preference toward Neckbeard.

Alta_redneck Alta_redneck:

The resulting disaster is the $Billions of investment $ slowly slipping away because there is no guidance from these bozos.

AIMCO is a separate Crown Corporation, and does not require Government intervention to protect our investments. Why don't you know that? Or perhaps I'm just making shit up again.

[andyt]

Jeez, if the issue is delaying a budget, how long did the feds just delay theirs in the spring?

Presumably until the new budget comes down, the old Prentice budget still applies. The reactionaries should be happy to have a good conservative budget in place, even if only in the short term.

[DrCaleb]

andyt andyt:

Presumably until the new budget comes down, the old Prentice budget still applies.

That's the problem, Prentice called an election without passing the budget (that we worked very hard on!). Notley had to pass an interim one to keep the lights on, so that things like Teachers could get paid in September when school starts.

But to Harper, that's a 'disaster'. I think Harper is 'Prenticizing' Alberta and Ontario for their election choices in order to rile up the weak minded Conservative supporters who were disappointed in the election outcomes. But he's not realizing that it's Alberta and Ontario he needs to win the Federal election, and blaming us for exercising our democratic right to vote may end up costing him more than he's bargaining for.

[Zipperfish]

The provinces don't fall under the federal government. There is a division of powers in the Constitution.

[andyt]

OMG, Zip's in factoid mode again.

[CountLothian]

It just makes him look like he wants Albertans to suffer more. Gushing over the possibility in the future.

I realize he is up against an actual NDP possibility and needs to politic, but this just shows what the guy is really like.

[Zipperfish]

andyt andyt:

OMG, Zip's in factoid mode again.

Just pointing out that it is wrong to say that teh federal government "funds" the provinces as implied above.

Interesting factoid: mitochondria have their own DNA.

[andyt]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

andyt andyt:

OMG, Zip's in factoid mode again.

Just pointing out that it is wrong to say that teh federal government "funds" the provinces as implied above.

Interesting factoid: mitochondria have their own DNA.

Not wrong to say, since if the feds turned off he taps to the provinces, there would be serious gnashing of teeth. The feds fund the provinces quite a bit.

Yes, it's thought that eukariotic cells cells formed as a symbiosis of more primitive cells, one of which became mitochondria. mtDNA is used in phylogentics.

What else you got?