Issue
While government spending is needed to ensure the health and safety of its constituents, there are studies that have shown that when government grows beyond a certain size it can hinder economic growth and lead to an overall lowering of living standards.
Background
There are a variety of methods by which the size of a government can be measured. One method is based on per capita spending, and another is to consider government spending as a percentage of GDP. Both methods can also factor in measures for tax expenditures and regulation. Following the inevitable major increase in fiscal year 2020 as a result of the COVID- 19 pandemic, there has not been a decrease in the size of our federal or provincial governments back to pre-pandemic levels.
Our Recommendations
The Alberta Chambers of Commerce recommends the Government of Alberta and Government of Canada
- Initiate a review of all ministries that evaluates the ministry focus and alignment, to be consistent with other provinces, territories and federal government ministries, as well as alignment with service delivery and focus areas based on private and voluntary sectors;
- Work towards consistency in government ministries to avoid regular changes to ministry titles, related costs to implement changes to ministry titles and unnecessary uncertainty associated with regular changes within the Ministry and department staffing requirements;
- Commit to comprehensive regulatory reform based on cost-benefit analysis and rooted in economic competitiveness and efficient service and program delivery.
Topic
Year
2023
Contact
If you have any questions, contact Dana Severson at dseverson@abchamber.ca or (780) 425-4180 ext. 2.