Mr. Speaker, during the Easter recess I had the opportunity to meet with government officials from 10 different municipalities within my riding of Crowfoot.
Each of these Alberta municipal governments told me that it is operating in the black and has varying degrees of reserves to draw upon if necessary.
What a novel idea. Money in the bank, no interest payments, no out of control debt, no threat of bankruptcy and a credit rating which is indicative of good fiscal management and responsibility. Only in Alberta they say.
I commend the mayors and councillors of these Alberta municipalities. When asked how they managed to run a debt free operation, they shared with me their closely guarded secret. They said they never spend more than they bring in.
Why can the local governments express such responsibility in fiscal matters while the federal government has been such a disaster?