A look at some of the recommendations in Alberta’s financial report

CALGARY – A panel looking into Alberta’s finances says the province has been overspending for years and needs to make changes. Here are some of 26 recommendations its report makes:

— Use alternative medical service delivery, including private clinics, for day procedures and other medical services that don’t have to be done in hospitals.

— Limit the high cost of doctor services by having physicians move to alternative payment plans, renegotiate its agreement with the Alberta Medical Association and also consider legislation.

— Revise school funding. Specifically decrease the amount that goes to administration and governance.

— Lift the current freeze on post-secondary tuition. Have institutions rely less on government grants and more on tuition and alternative revenue sources.

— Create legislation that sets salary levels for all public-sector workers and applies to all negotiations and arbitrations. It would form the basis for back-to-work legislation.

— Adopt a fiscal rule that limits annual increases in total program spending to the projected increase in total household incomes.

— Balance the budget by 2022-23 and introduce a legislated plan to eliminate the net debt by 2043-44.

— Establish a fixed budget date.