Back to Balance
Reducing Spending
To get back to balance, government needs to spend less. But, reducing spending isn't an easy matter.
People count on the programs and services government provides—like health care, education or road paving. Changes to public services need to be carefully thought out. Sudden, drastic cuts have a negative impact on quality of life and they can harm the economy. Across the board spending reductions have failed to produce lasting savings.
Another challenge is that the cost of delivering programs and services goes up every year.
To close the gap, we have to slow down the growth of expenses. For example, if spending were to grow at 3% per year instead of the historical rate of 5%, in three years there would be an annual saving of about $500 million. This would go a long way towards closing the gap.
Unfortunately, many of the things that cause costs to go up aren't under the control of government. Demographic changes, competition with other provinces and countries for skilled workers and professions, energy costs, and the cost of things like new medications - all these factors drive costs higher.
To reduce spending we need to think about the programs and services government can deliver more efficiently, or perhaps not at all. Government is already looking at all areas of spending to do exactly that and welcomes your views.
