Rachel Notley says major public job cuts would hurt fragile economy

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says there will not be big cuts to the public service in the fall budget.

The premier says her government is looking at budget cuts, but it is also doing a careful analysis of where to make those cuts.

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"What we're looking at is doing a very careful analysis. We're not talking about making massive cuts because we don't think that that will help the economy in any way," she said.

"Because we know that when the economy is delicate, making massive cuts, laying off public servants, cutting back services that vulnerable Albertans rely on, that's going to make the situation worse at a time when we need to soften the blow."

Notley acknowledged that most experts now agree Alberta is in a recession.

But she says the government is confident oil prices will recover and she expects the province will see modest growth next year.

"We're going to do everything we can to encourage that," she said, adding that a jobs and economic stimulus package will be introduced in the fall.

Wildrose would target 'corporate welfare'

Opposition finance critic Derek Fildebrandt says if the Wildrose Party were in government, it could balance the budget in three years.

"We would begin with corporate welfare," he said.

"We are spending well over a billion dollars in subsidies to big businesses that are normally politically connected to the old Progressive Conservative government. We would start with that."

The provincial government itself must also be trimmed, Fildebrandt said.

"We don't need that many managers. The Department of Tourism, more than 50 per cent of the employees at the Department of Tourism are managers," he said.

"And government positions don't exist to provide jobs. They exist to provide services. So, we need a full review of government spending."