The premier of Alberta laments postponing the tax decrease and expects that health reform will be paid for in 2025.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is eager to show that her government can finally put the pieces of a shattered provincial health system back together in the new year.
In a recent year-end interview, Smith said that the work that began in 2023 to create four new organizations instead of a single health authority is almost complete, but much more needs to be done.
"I think next year will be the real test of the new model," she said.
Critics said the restructuring would silo decision-making, make the system harder for patients and workers to navigate, add layers of bureaucracy and fail to address the shortage of health care workers and beds.
Some of the biggest things to be done include ensuring that everyone has access to a family doctor and reducing wait times for surgeries to what doctors recommend. For Ms. Smith, it was about identifying the big problems and starting to solve them.
"That was very rewarding for me," she said, noting the introduction of a new reimbursement model for nurse practitioners, expanding the role of pharmacists and increasing the number of surgical procedures in private facilities.
Ms. Smith's coalition Conservative government has been busy on several other fronts in 2024.
Ms. Smith highlighted "tremendous progress" in overhauling electricity market rules to try to calm price volatility and lower electricity bills, including the introduction of a new default rate starting in January.
She also said Alberta has dealt with more than 1,200 fires, including one that destroyed the mountain town of Jasper in July. In the spring, the Smith government laid the groundwork for a new provincial police force and committed increasing amounts of money to sheriff-led projects, including strengthening security on Alberta's southern border with Montana.
The UCP also imposed new regulatory hurdles on the development of renewable wind and solar energy.
And a provincial law bans partisan slogans at the local level. In the upcoming municipal elections in October, municipalities will be forced to count votes manually, among other changes that will reshape the political landscape.
Smith has the unwavering support of the UCP. In November, she won a 91.5 percent approval rating among party members shortly after introducing a new Alberta Bill of Rights that promises to protect the right to refuse vaccinations.
She continues to be buoyed by her near-constant legal and symbolic resistance to the federal Liberal government, which is deeply unpopular in Alberta, and by her willingness to turn conservative social proposals into government policy.
Similarly, the government also passed a law restricting health care for transgender people, which is now the subject of a legal challenge.
The cost of Smith's health care overhaul, estimated by the government at $85 million, will not be the only item cutting Alberta's budget in the new year.
Billions of dollars have been pledged over the next three years to build new schools as classrooms become overcrowded. About 250,000 public sector workers are still in collective bargaining talks with government employers.
All this, while Finance Minister Nate Horner warned of the "real risk" of a deficit on the horizon, depending on whether oil prices fall below budget projections.
The government's projections do not take into account the impact of future policies, including the 25% tariffs threatened by new US President Donald Trump.
As the Alberta government prepares its 2025 budget, a billion-dollar regret lingers in Smith's mind.
"We probably should have included the tax cut in our first budget," Smith said. That key election promise to save taxpayers hundreds of dollars a year starting in 2023-24 could be kept four years later.
"We heard it was something that disappointed the people who supported us," Smith said.
"It might be better for Albertans if we implement it and then find a way to fund it." ยป
When she and Horner pushed this promise, there was uncertainty about oil and gas prices, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and population growth.
"We pushed, but we heard loud and clear that people needed this tax break," he said.
As the province's population grows, income tax revenues are also up slightly, from $15.1 billion in 2023-2024 to a projected $16.5 billion in 2024-2025. Smith said the year-over-year increase was a surprise.
She also highlighted the fact that Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has taken steps to implement a personal income tax cut promised during the last election campaign that helped his Saskatchewan Party win another majority government.
"Scott Moe learned the lesson I learned, and he campaigned on tax cuts," Smith said.
Asked at what point his pending promise would become a broken promise, Smith said he was happy to see many long-term revenue streams growing and that tax cuts were still on his agenda.
"That gives the finance minister some peace of mind. I asked him to look for ways to speed it up, so we'll see at the end of February if he succeeds."
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