Alberta needs long-term fiscal planning to avoid the adverse effects of oil price swings on the contents of its coffers, outgoing auditor general Merwan Saher said in his final report. “I have no idea what the (government) plan is going out into the future,” he said. “I think there’s a tendency generally, we’re human beings, that the future will take care of itself. That is incredibly risky for a group of people to rely on.” Alberta enjoyed massive oil revenues during the boom years, but it is now suffering the effects of the latest oil price collapse, aggravated additionally by the pipeline shortage that has increased the discount at which Western Canadian Select trades to WTI. Saher went on to add that the province’s oil wealth has proven to be a mixed blessing, as oil revenues are easy to use as substitutes for more stable sources budget income in […]