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“It’s an absolute expectation that unions accept the fact that they did very well in the downturn,” Keating said.

“We hope they come to the realization that they might have to accept wage freezes over the next two or three years. No matter what happens, we have to balance our books.”

Prior to last October’s civic election, Mayor Naheed Nenshi said unions will likely be asked to make concessions on their wages to reflect the city’s new financial reality. Later this year, the city will begin crafting its next four-year budget blueprint.

Rookie Coun. Jeromy Farkas agreed with Keating that the city needs to significantly alter the playing field with its unions to ensure taxpayers aren’t saddled with a mounting burden.

“I think a wage freeze for several years will be a starting point — I’d say absolutely nothing is off the table to reduce costs,” Farkas said.

“Looking at the overall economy, it’s important for the government to lead by example.”

Farkas added he isn’t keen on considering layoffs for city staff, and hopes that reasonable agreements on the wage side will prevent that.

But D’Arcy Lanovaz, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 38, responsible for the city’s inside workers, dismissed the notion that city unions benefited from overly generous wage concessions prior to Alberta’s economic swoon.

“I just go back to the times when the economy was great, and the message we’d get is ‘you’re not the private sector, so you don’t get those kinds of highs.’ Now they’re trying to compare us to the private sector,” Lanovaz said.