Alberta business calendar: Budget, red ink and campaign commitments

All eyes will be on the Alberta budget this week and as alwaysthere have been some hints dropped about what itmight contain.

Finance Minister Joe Cecihas said not to expect many surprises in the provincial budget, but that campaign promises would be filled and that there would be a job creation plan.

• Alberta deficit forecast at $5.9B as province feels impact of low oil prices
• Alberta's NDP government to take one year longer to balance books

The one thingwe can be sure of is that there will be a deficit, asoil prices remain weakand the NDP promises from the campaign will be expensive.

As well, infrastructure spending has been promised to give Alberta's recessionary economy a boost.

Campaign promises

Here are some of the promises from the NDP campaign in the spring:

• Rachel Notley saidthe NDPwould do away with proposed Tory fee hikes to mortgages, land transfersand land title registry searches.
• Funding new school enrolmentwould also be part of the party's fiscal plan.
• The partyalso promises tocreate a job-creation tax credit that would rebate 10 per cent of wages paid to new hires up to a salary of $50,000, which the NDP predicts would create 27,000 new jobs.
• The NDP's plan would also invest in2,000 new long-term-care beds over four years andchild care for families.

An increase in the corporate tax rate and a return of progressive personal tax rates have already been implemented.

Cecialso saidhe was considering an infrastructure plan given to the province by former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge,who has said the timeis right to spend on infrastructure with interest rate so low.

The budget will be tabled on Tuesday.