In theory, all 83 Alberta MLAs speak for the taxpayers in their constituencies. But since Premier Klein increased our taxes by $641 million this past March, how many MLAs have called for reversing these tax hikes Some ND and Liberal MLAs criticized Premier Klein for breaking his pre-election promise to Albertans that "the only way taxes are going is down." But these same opposition MLAs consistently call on the government to throw more money at health care, teachers' salaries, social workers, etc. They pretend to object to the tax hike, yet have no viable plan of their own to cut spending or taxes. As for Tory backbench MLAs, not one of them has criticized Premier Klein for breaking his promise to Albertans.

Can you name one MLA who spoke up for taxpayers when the First Quarter Fiscal Update indicated an unexpected extra $828 million was available

The governing Tories spent 100% of this money, and put 0% into tax cuts.

The Official Opposition Liberals said nothing about taxes. They didn't call for any of the $828 million to go towards reversing Ralph Klein's $641 million tax increase. Instead, the Liberals criticized the size of the surplus, describing it as "cold," "unrealistically low," and "hide-and-seek." They also accused the Tories of "hiding" the surplus behind "creative accounting" and "pulling the wool over our eyes when they claim they've already spent the surplus." Huh Alberta's process of Quarterly Fiscal Updates is the most open, transparent and accountable in Canada. The Tories can be rightly criticized for breaking their election promise on taxes, but it's silly to suggest they are cooking the books.

The Liberals then attacked the Tories for their "aggressive" debt repayment program, as if a 75% reduction in debt servicing costs is a problem! Thanks to the Tories' "aggressive" debt repayment, Albertans now lose only 3% of their provincial tax dollars to service the debt, compared to 12% eight years ago.

Like the Tories and Liberals, the New Democrats were also silent on taxes. Oblivious to the fact that Alberta's spending on government programs today is 52% higher than six years ago, ND Leader Raj Pannu decried the "continued underfunding of regional health authorities and school boards."

We Albertans are still at the mercy of our 83 MLAs when it comes to tax increases and new taxes. In its current form, the Alberta Taxpayer Protection Act allows politicians to raise our taxes at any time for any reason, even if it violates a clear election promise. Taxpayer approval in a referendum is required only for the introduction of a general sales tax. All other new taxes - and tax increases - can be imposed without politicians needing to justify them.

In contrast, taxpayers in Manitoba, Ontario, the Yukon, Switzerland, the state of Washington, and other jurisdictions around the world, have to be consulted in a referendum before tax increases go into effect. The onus is on politicians to explain and justify the tax increase.

Why do we not have taxpayer protection legislation in Alberta Let's hope that some of our 83 MLAs start supporting this idea sooner rather than later.