Alberta’s NDP government is turning to one of Canada’s top financial advisers to help come up with a plan to deal with the province’s infrastructure problems.
David Dodge, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, will spend the summer looking at the size of the government’s capital spending plan, the mix of capital investment and the approaches to financing the investments.
“It’s a tall order made even taller order by our current fiscal challenges. Now we are dealing with a global economic downturn and extended decline in energy revenues. Investing in infrastructure in a slowing economy is a challenge, but it is a challenge we need to meet,” said Alberta premier Rachel Notley.
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“Many years of rapid population and economic growth have created significant pressure on our public infrastructure and Alberta’s previous government did not keep up with the demand.”
For years, the Alberta government was focused on eliminating the debt, but at the expense of roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, she said.
Dodge said he is not opposed to borrowing money to fund infrastructure projects.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development that will lead to greater economic development where there is a viable return on that investment is absolute appropriate.”
That borrowing for projects must not compete with private sector resources and projects, he said.
While the overall Canadian economy is fairly weak, the issue is finding the right mix of spending in difficult financial times, he said.
“The real issue is where do we go over the next four or five years and that is the issue I will be trying to address over the course of the summer to try and help the premier and the minister make their decisions.”
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