Thread by @EmmaLGraney

Travis Toews here presenting Q1 fiscal update for Alberta. “I’ll be frank, it’s not a rosy picture,” he says #ableg #cdnpoli

Toews says this is the NDP's fault, thanks to them ignoring the debt. "As a province, we must live within our means and curb expenses" and we must do that today, he says. Says the NDP was "rash" in its policy choices #ableg #cdnpoli

Revenues are flat, expenses are down for the first quarter of 2019-20 v this time last year. I'll note that the government isn't providing us any projections on what might happen #ableg

Here's a quick file on Alberta's Q1 fiscal update edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/… #ableg #cdnpoli

Toews says Albertans shouldn't be scared "at all" about impending cuts, hammers home the point people shouldn't be saddled with such a huge amount of debt #ableg #cdnpoli

Year 4 or 5 will see an increase in corporate taxes, Toews says. Yes, the cut his gvt made will cause a drop, but "we're convinced" that in the longterm we'll see an increase in revenues over time #ableg #cdnpoli

What level of debt is Toews comfortable with? Firstly, he wants to balance the budget each year. The debt is real, he says, and Albertans don't want to lump their kids with debt. Doesn't give a number, says ideally we get to balance then pay down debt. #ableg #cdnpoli

Toews acknowledges the corporate tax revenues will be down for a while - and the UCP platform is off on its timing (we'll take in $1b less than projected). Toews says his party was clear with Albertans that a corporate tax cut would be on the table. #ableg #cdnpoli

Toews is asked about the MacKinnon report. "We're spending quality time with it these days," he says. "We're working to merge the MacK panel report conclusions with our own budget deliberations," he says. Report to be made public "shortly" #ableg #cdnpoli

"It should not be a race to the bottom" when it comes to comparing Albertans debt:GDP to other provinces. We shouldn't be comparing ourselves to other debt-laden provinces, Toews says. "We have a resp to Albertans to manage finances in a responsible manner" #ableg #cdnpoli

How would Toews describe the economy? Today we're looking at Q1 results, he says. But the reality is the global economy has some challenges and that could impact us. Says he'll update forecasts at budget time but is not commenting further than that on projections #ableg #cdnpoli

Back to corporate tax cuts. It hasn't led to job creation yet - will he re-evaluate the plan? Toews: We'd re-evaluate only to speed it up, but they're sticking with this plan no matter what. "We made it clear to Albertans this was the path we'd go on." #ableg #cdnpoli

And if the corporate tax cut doesn't deliver on those results? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we're doing it, Toews says. #ableg #cdnpoli

As for worries around a global recession, Toews says he's paying attention and this government will control what it can #ableg #cdnpoli

Should the public sector be worried? Toews says the commitment was to manage money responsibly and he will take a tack to ensure it's responsible with taxpayer dollars. "We are entering a period of restraint, there's no doubt about that." And that's the end. #ableg #cdnpoli