Alberta's budget: 5 things the business sector is seeking

The past few years have been a struggle for many Alberta business owners who've had to weather a dreadful fiscal slump that started with the oil price crash in 2014.

There's now hope Alberta isturning the corner, with the government reporting in February's third-quarter update that itis forecasting a return to pre-recession economic levels by 2019.

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But with Canadian crude oil sellingat a severe discount and office vacancies persistingin downtown Calgary,trepidation continuesamid signs of economic recovery.

On Thursday, businesses will be looking to see if Finance Minister Joe Ceci can encourage a little positive momentum with the release of his fiscal plan for the coming year.

CBC News spoke with a cross-section of Alberta business groups this week about what they want to see in this year's provincial budget. Here are five items from thewish list.

Balance thebooks quickly

When Ceci releases his budget on Thursday, it's expectedit will include a plan for returning to balanced budgets by 2023.

But on Tuesday, Cecicautioned thatthe path to balanced budgetslies in the completion of two major pipeline projects, theTrans Mountain pipeline expansionand Enbridge's Line 3.

Business leaders will want to see furtherdetails on how Alberta will balance the books, especially as the province forecast inFebruary that Alberta expects a year-end deficit of $9.1 billion.

"Today's deficits are tomorrow's taxes," said Amber Ruddy, Alberta director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Reduce costs on business

Zoe Addington of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce says business could use a break after absorbing new costs in recent years, including additional corporate tax, labour regulationand the carbon levy.

"We've certainly seen, in the last three years, legislation and regulation that have added to the cost for business, especially small business," said Addington. "We can debate the merits of each of these policies but ... overall we're seeing additional costs on business."

Some business owners may still hope that the province will hold off on plans to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour,up from $13.60, on October 1. But the NDP has stood by their wage pledge, with supporters of thepolicy arguing the impact has been overblown by critics.

'Put some meat on the bone'

Alberta's renewable energy sector is looking to Thursday's budget to provide more details about the second and third round of bids to build renewable energy projects in the province.

Last month, the province said its second round of projects aimed at producing 300 megawatts (MW) of electricitywould also be designed to boost the economy and training of Indigenous people. A third round will follow the same rules as the first in targeting 400 MW of output.

The sector islooking for the government to "put some meat on the bone" on Thursday,said Evan Wilson of the CanadianWindEnergy Association.

"Even something like mentioning the date of when these projects are going to be in service," said Wilson. "That has an impact on what the competition can look like."

Rev up innovation

Perry Kinkaide, founder of the Alberta Council of Technologies in Edmonton and advocate of economic diversification, would like to hear the government begin talking about reallocating spendingto support emerging technologiesthat will benefit the province into the future.

"I don't think we need new money, I think we need to start thinking about the reallocation of money," said Kinkaide.

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"Programs that have been built to support industries that are now established need to be reallocated to make sure that we can make the transitions that these new technologies are bringing."

He saidemerging technologieswill lead to a major shake-upin jobs, meaning the government must also anticipatethe requirements foradvanced education and retraining. The province must encourage innovation, he said.

Helpoilpatchin battle for capital

The big issue facing Alberta's energy sector right now is competitiveness,says Tom Whalen, president and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.

With cuts totaxes and regulation pouring more fuel on the U.S. energy boom, Whalensaid capital dollars are fleeingAlberta, and Canada, for more lucrative opportunities south of the border.

"At the very least, don't put something into the budget that's going to make us less competitive," said Whalen, adding it's critical government and industry find ways to entice investment.

That includesremovingthe pipeline bottlenecks that are contributing to a costly discount on Canadian oil, he said.

While he's encouraged that Alberta's energy regulator is removing some of thered tape around the permit process,whichshould produce some cost savings, he said "it can't happen fast enough."

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