No one voted for cuts to frontline services

By Letter to the Editor on February 13, 2020.

Promise No. 4 of Jason Kenney’s election platform promised to balance the province’s books “without cutting frontline services.” He’s broken that promise on both fronts.

No one voted for cuts to frontline services, but the UCP have already announced the reduction of up to 7,500 health-care workers.

Next year we can look forward to fewer teachers and educational assistants in our children’s classrooms. And if our children are older, tuition is increasing 28% over the course of Jason Kenney’s term of office. No one voted for that either.

Municipal governments across the province are reeling from huge cuts to municipal grants. When they start cutting police, snow clearing, garbage pickup and other services, I’m sure MLA Drew Barnes will blame council. But the blame lies with him and the UCP.

The worst part? Kenney isn’t even balancing the books. The deficit has gone up by $2 billion over what it was under the NDP. Kenney’s own budget says debt levels will be higher under the UCP than planned under the NDP. So expect even more cuts in the future.

Why is that? How can we be getting fewer services and higher debt? Because Kenney decided to give a $4.7 billion tax cut to already profitable corporations. A tax cut that hasn’t created a single new job.

And nobody voted for that.

Morgan (Sam) Ferrier

Medicine Hat

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