This release was issued under a previous government.

“On Budget Day, I told Albertans about the choices that we face. The collapse in oil prices has put people out of work and hurt our economy.

“Some would have us respond to unemployment by laying off teachers and nurses. They want us to scale back our substantial jobs plan.

“We believe there is a better way to move Alberta forward. The Alberta Jobs Plan supports families while investing in growing employment over the next three years through a $34.8 billion infrastructure plan and innovative business supports. Alberta will remain the lowest taxed jurisdiction in Canada with no sales tax, no payroll tax and no health-care premiums. Increasing taxes at this time would only pull money out of our already hurting economy.

“Similarly, investing in long term care, education and affordable housing will cut overall costs in the long run while building a fairer and more resilient Alberta. Decades of failure to invest in infrastructure means that the government is playing catch up to invest in long term care beds and school construction.

“Today’s credit rating downgrade is a disappointment. In the current environment, all jurisdictions engaged in petroleum production are facing ratings downgrades. We are also in a better position than some to manage these pressures, while we work to make Alberta less vulnerable to commodity price swings.

“With the strongest balance sheet in the country and net assets of nearly $50 billion, Alberta is a strong and economically stable place to live and do business. The budget clearly demonstrated how the government is getting costs under control, especially in health care, by cutting spending growth to an average of 2.4 per cent over the next four years. This is in stark contrast to six per cent average growth in the prior six years.

“Finally, we are responsibly managing our debt while working hard to support a growth oriented business environment. This fiscal year, we expect to spend 2.4 per cent of our budget revenue on debt servicing. By comparison, British Columbia will spend 5.5 per cent of its budget revenue on debt service costs, more than twice what we are expecting to spend. Similarly, Ontario is expecting to spend nine per cent of its budget revenue on interest charges, almost four times higher than Alberta. Meanwhile, the Alberta Jobs Plan cuts small business tax by one percentage point and promotes growth for small and medium sized companies as well as private capital investments.”