PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING
In today’s globally competitive business environment, it is imperative that government create a climate that attracts new business and allows existing businesses to prosper.
Various economic indicators have shown that Manitoba continually lags behind other provinces, whether in taxation levels, job growth or average weekly wages.
In an effort to achieve a more economically competitive climate, tax relief is a key component, but the only way taxes can be reduced is through a combination of increased revenues and spending reductions.
Repeated budgets have shown that the provincial government has not focused on expenditure reduction. This must become a priority. Any provincial government spending policy should be based on four principles:
- Sustainability – Is the spending sustainable over a continued timeframe?
- Transparency/Simplicity – Spending should be structured so it can be clearly understood by taxpayers and is inexpensive to administer.
- Accountability – The government must be publicly accountable to taxpayers for money raised and expended.
- Efficiency – Government spending should be done in the most efficient manner and performance measures established.
Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Recommendations:
- Create a culture in the public sector that inspires and rewards employees for finding efficiencies.
- Set a target. to reduce provincial government reliance on equalization payments by a minimum of 10 per cent per year with a goal to eliminate reliance on equalization payments from the federal government in an effort to generate economic growth.
- Set a target of having Manitoba’s annual spending as a percentage of GDP among the top three most competitive of all provinces.
- Continually evaluate government expenditures for efficiencies and effectiveness. To that end, establish a Commission on Efficiencies that will engage the public in determining if provincial services are being provided in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
Adopted by The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce board of directors, March 2007