• Join Together Alberta Town Hall, Calgary, June 14, 2011 - Powerpoint Presentation

Using the global economic crisis as a smokescreen, the Alberta government threatened a severe assault on the province's public sector in the months before the 2010 budget in February.

Premier Ed Stelmach, under pressure from the right-wing Wildrose Alliance, sent the message he was looking to slash public-sector spending. While economists and governments all over the world - including the federal Conservatives in Ottawa - recognized that the best way out of the economic meltdown was to increase public-sector spending, it appeared the Alberta government was blind to this common-sense approach.

Here, Stelmach talked about the need to tighten belts in the public sector. New finance minister Ted Morton told us in the weeks before the budget that Alberta's all-you-can-eat spending buffet was about to close. We were told that public-sector spending, in such vital areas as health and education, were out of control and unsustainable.

But public-sector spending in this province is not out of line and compares favourably with other jurisdictions. Alberta's revenue is improving again. We have assets more than $40 billion - $13 billion in the in the rainy-day sustainability fund - to draw upon. Temporary deficits will not create any debt. Carefully crafted short-term deficits are a globally recognized tool for dealing with economic downturns.

Summary

The Alberta Federation of Labour and representatives from community social-service organizations, teachers, parent groups, health professionals, students, faculty and other labour organizations decided to work together to stop the cuts. A coalition called Join Together Alberta was formed to reach out to people throughout the province and town-hall meetings were organized in 22 communities.

The message coming from the thousands who attended was loud and clear: Save Our Services! Albertans have no appetite for a return to Klein-style cuts to core public services that would kill the fragile economic recovery we are beginning to see and that would tear at the fabric of our communities.

Those voices made a difference. The budget recognized the need for increased funding for health care, but the risk of privatization still looms large. Meanwhile, many other areas - in classrooms, in further education, in services for seniors and those with developmental disabilities ¬- are facing cuts or spending freezes.

So, the battle to protect health care, education and other vital public services - the battle to protect the fabric of our communities - is still on.
To support the Join Together Alberta, the AFL has prepared two reports examining the role of Alberta's public sector. One shows the vital role it plays as an engine in our economy and how the private sector could not function without public services. The second report shows just how many jobs in the province would be lost if public-sector spending is slashed.

What can you do?

The AFL continues to work closely with Join Together Alberta to stop the cuts to public services. Community Action Teams are being formed in communities across Alberta and they need your help. You can join the campaign by visiting www.jointogetheralberta.ca, where you can sign a petition, write letters to the premier and your MLA, join a Facebook group or sign up to follow events on Twitter.