§ 5. Sir John Mellorasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he will make a statement with regard to the financial position of the Province of Alberta?
§ The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (Sir Thomas Inskip)As the answer contains a number of figures, I will, with the permission of my hon. Friend, circulate it in the OFFICIAL RE-FORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ Since 1st November last, when my predecessor made a statement on the position in reply to a question by my hon. Friend, there has been no substantial change in the financial situation of Alberta, so far as I am aware. It appears from a Final Report on the Public Accounts of the Province for the financial year ended 31st March, 1938, that the overall cash surplus (excluding new borrowings, debt redemption, etc.) at the end of the year amounted to $1,083,494. According to an interim financial report recently issued by the Government of Alberta, the cash surplus on 31st December, 1938, was $565,031 as compared with $217,607 on 31st December, 1937, and the net funded and unfunded debt of the Province on 31st December, 1938, was $156,444,630 as compared with $157,015,416 on 31st March, 1938, and $156,747,689 on 30th June, 1938. I understand that the Provincial Treasurer of Alberta, in his Budget speech on 27th February last, estimated that there would be an overall deficit on income and capital accounts combined for the financial year ending 31st March, 1940, of $1,150,107.