Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Fuzz]

If you haven't done it already you can file some budget feedback here:


https://www.alberta.ca/budget-2026-survey


Most of it isn't as leading as their usual surveys, but you'll notice a distinct lack of a checkbox for "PST".

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by troutman

Rath overestimates how much support he has, and underestimates how much he is helping the NDP.

That guy is the poster child for all hat, no cattle.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by troutman

Rath overestimates how much support he has, and underestimates how much he is helping the NDP.

No, no, I think we want to encourage this. I think he’s really onto something and this is a cause that the UCP should really get out ahead of. Of course it’s ridiculously stupid, and Albertans have shown no propensity to want any of the APP, ditching the RCMP or other firewall items, but this will totally fly. And right, we don’t know what portions of the province could even separate when you consider the treaties or National Parks, but that’s just window dressing for the negotiations. They could wrap that conversation up before lunch! What’s that you say? We’re not sure whether separation means a separate nation or the 51st state (maybe the 52nd after Venezuela?). Don’t worry about things like that. The important thing is that in spite of those little bits of minutiae, Albertans are lining up to vote yes.

[puffnstuff]

https://bsky.app/profile/naheednensh.../3m7223jdj7k2j

How can Danielle Smith claim to barely know the man at the center of the CorruptCare scandal when she's had dinner at his house, met with him multiple times, and her closest advisors include five members of his family?

Video from QP today in the link. I dont see an answer from Smith anywhere, will look for it.

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

https://bsky.app/profile/naheednensh.../3m7223jdj7k2j

How can Danielle Smith claim to barely know the man at the center of the CorruptCare scandal when she's had dinner at his house, met with him multiple times, and her closest advisors include five members of his family?

Video from QP today in the link. I dont see an answer from Smith anywhere, will look for it.

I would be forgetting him as well. I doubt Jason Kenney know's who he is as well. Everybody scared that he may forget to cut them in on the full scam he pulled off. Everybody eating well on the back of the taxpayers and getting rich.

[puffnstuff]

And she didnt really answer...

https://bsky.app/profile/thebreakdow.../3m72cafe4ck23

[troutman]

Marlaina plans to move the goal posts on recall rules on Thursday?

[#-3]

I'm pretty impressed with that survey from this government. It was not a question begging for an answer.

My answer to the open ended question, I tried to take a couple of subtle digs at past UCP policies, stances.


What other actions could Alberta’s government take to make your life more affordable and the province an attractive place to live, work and play?

"Strong public infrastructure investment. No cost parks and access to nature. good, cheep or free public transport, easy access to health care that includes dental and mental. People need to live well without worry about the cost of living well. "


Also Fuzz, I'll remind you a 5% PST would effectively be an immediate 5% tax increase on anyone living pay cheque to pay cheque, while those who are investing or saving will not feel the same effects with the same immediacy. And incredibly regressive tax disguised and fairness, they could just bring corporate income tax rates first and personal income tax rates second in line with other provinces.

[Fuzz]

Sure, they could do both those things and a PST. They can pre-refund low income people before implementing it. I know not everyone registers for programs like that, but maybe with some of the extra income we could fund supports to help those people get the help they are entitled to, and help them in other ways. Sorry, hold on, starting to sound like socialism.

[#-3]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Sure, they could do both those things and a PST. They can pre-refund low income people before implementing it. I know not everyone registers for programs like that, but maybe with some of the extra income we could fund supports to help those people get the help they are entitled to, and help them in other ways. Sorry, hold on, starting to sound like socialism.

I just think you fundamentally don't know what it feels like to be poor, this is the reason the carbon tax failed. If pay cheque to pay cheque people get a $300 cheque, they will pay off some bad debt, then they will have the lived experience of paying 5% more for their lunch, or a candy bar (which they will later start to pay interest on that extra $5)... Yes there may be exceptions like milk and bread, but it will hit them somewhere, and they will feel it a lot more than you think.

We could skip all of complicated programs to suck a little extra tax out of the people who spend money, while trying to make the poor whole, and we could just charge the profitable businesses and high income people an appropriate amount of tax, on the tax bill they are already paying, and we are already doing the administrative work for. And maybe take a small bite out of the compounding advantage of savings that has lead to the wild divergent between high and low wealth people over the past 40-50 years, by just taxing people when they earn the money, instead of letting them earn a bunch more money with the money, before we tax them.

[powderjunkie]

There’s so many ways for high income people to reduce or defer their income taxes, including perks that are not necessarily fully accounted for. Like using your business to buy new stuff that serves a business function, but ends up primarily personal use. Reduces the profits to be taxed, but a PST would catch some of that spend

[#-3]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

There’s so many ways for high income people to reduce or defer their income taxes, including perks that are not necessarily fully accounted for. Like using your business to buy new stuff that serves a business function, but ends up primarily personal use. Reduces the profits to be taxed, but a PST would catch some of that spend

Well instead of hiring a dozen accountants to patch a regressive tax system, for the same money we could probably hire a dozen auditors to put their heels on the tax cheats who are stealing money from Alberta. And least their work would be a measurable revenue source

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Sure, they could do both those things and a PST. They can pre-refund low income people before implementing it. I know not everyone registers for programs like that, but maybe with some of the extra income we could fund supports to help those people get the help they are entitled to, and help them in other ways. Sorry, hold on, starting to sound like socialism.

Socialism is not a dirty word anymore. The dumbdumbs found out about communism and now just call everything they do not like "communist".

I would avoid a PST as well. It is not a good tool from a populist stance because it puts too much burden on people who cannot afford it and people who can afford it won't even notice the change. Adding a PST just punishes people who are already struggling to afford things, especially if they are on a fixed income. Trying to soften the blow of a PST by pre-refunding low income people just make the system unnecessarily complex when it is obvious that your desired outcome is to tax people who are making more money without crippling the people who cannot afford to pay more.

What Alberta needs to do is increase the corporate tax back up to the national average which would net the province $5+B per year (based on the amount we lost after Smith and Kenney each cut corporate taxes), which would then soften the roller coaster that we are seeing with the budget because the taxes are constant. Then increase the taxes on the richest tax brackets and on capital gains that are over 7 figures or whatever it takes to close the loopholes that the richest people use to avoid paying taxes.

If you want to get crazy with it then crack open the royalty rate formula and increase the % of royalties that Alberta gets for our resources. It seems fair considering the oil companies are recording record profits and are reducing their Alberta workforce (and more importantly, reducing their workforce to barrel ratio). If less and less Albertans are benefiting from working for these companies then charging them more for royalties makes sense as a way to balance out the formula and ensure Alberta is still getting it's fair cut (dust off the 'think like an owner').

Basically all of those things are better to do than a PST. Hell, I would even advocate for removing the GST from household essentials as a way to ease the burden on people in the affordability crisis and find other ways to make that tax money back.

[Slava]

The GST is already removed from household essentials.

But overall, I’m so glad you’re not running the policy for the NDP, because I’m pretty sure that a bunch of those ideas would be politically suicidal, and I really want the UCP out ASAP.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Wolven

I would think that many of the people who are collecting for the private school petition would also be interested in this petition getting signatures... Hopefully many of them will collect for both.

Also, getting each of these petitions through will be another thorn in the side of the UCP so even if you do not really believe in each petition, sticking it to the UCP is worth putting pen to paper and reminding the people running the government how democracy is supposed to work.

I wonder if people might get petition fatigue with so many being out there.

I think it may dilute the power of each message if there are too many competing for attention and the average person not actively engaged in the political landscape might get sick of them.

[Fuzz]

Are the poor in Alberta somehow different than the rest of Canada? Are they doing a lot better, because they don't worry about a PST? Or the world, for that matter? Most places have consumption taxes. This weird resistance in Alberta is silly, and even more baffling it comes form both sides.

Wealthy people, as powderjunkie mentioned, have ways to avoid income taxes. But they still do spend money. Why not capture some of it, like virtually every modern country does? Tourists and businesses pay consumption taxes, too, so it diversifies our tax base away from citizens. But oh no, not in Alberta! "It'd never work!" I just don't understand how some of you think. Given these things everyone brings up are all solved problems in other jurisdictions, it's up to the no PST folks to actually justify it, and I've yet to see a rational answer that explains why Alberta is so different than everywhere else.

We are vastly under-taxed in Alberta, which is why our services are so ####. We pay teachers the lowest in Canada and complain there is no money for more. And then y'all line up on the government's side and help them make their point and policy. Tell me, when is what we are doing now going to start working? Because this Alberta Advantage bull#### is getting real old and stinky.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Sure, they could do both those things and a PST. They can pre-refund low income people before implementing it. I know not everyone registers for programs like that, but maybe with some of the extra income we could fund supports to help those people get the help they are entitled to, and help them in other ways. Sorry, hold on, starting to sound like socialism.

problem is families like mine who are doing very poorly but technically are not below the market basket measure.

I understand financial supports are usually geared for those below the MBM, so a PST would kill a family like mine.

Besides, You'd have to trust the Government of Alberta to properly manage a program to help low income people.
Look at what they've done to people on AISH. The UCP delights in harming the most vulnerable and making it as difficult as possible to get help.

Sorry. until they tax big business properly, #### rolling over for a PST. hit the rich companies first, who are not paying their fair share.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

problem is families like mine who are doing very poorly but technically are not below the market basket measure.

I understand financial supports are usually geared for those below the MBM, so a PST would kill a family like mine.

Besides, You'd have to trust the Government of Alberta to properly manage a program to help low income people.
Look at what they've done to people on AISH. The UCP delights in harming the most vulnerable and making it as difficult as possible to get help.

Sorry. until they tax big business properly, #### rolling over for a PST. hit the rich companies first, who are not paying their fair share.

Do you get GST rebates?

[Fuzz]

Known as the “Alberta tax advantage,” this attitude can be traced back to 1936 when a new Social Credit government introduced a two per cent sales tax recommended by a taxation commission.

Albertans were not happy with the new tax, and the government backed off collecting the tax after a year and a half. Shortly after the tax was introduced, Alberta defaulted on its debt — a default that lasted nearly a decade. The default exposed huge fissures in the structure of provincial finances.

https://www.canadian-accountant.com/...es-tax-alberta

We were our own worst enemy then, and I guess not much has changed.

In July, some UCP leaders campaign researchers uncovered a controversial column written by UCP front-runner Danielle Smith in September 2020 that advocated a five per cent sales tax. This column, which emerged only mid-way in the UCP leadership campaign, resulted in Smith’s close competitors Travis Toews and Brian Jean attacking her on Twitter.

Toews, a former minister of finance, claimed Albertans cannot afford a provincial sales tax. Alberta’s 2022 budget, which he had a hand in creating as a minister, shows that if Albertans paid taxes at Ontario rates, Alberta’s tax revenues would be $14.9 billion higher.

Alberta will remain on a fiscal rollercoaster without a sales tax and Albertans will have little choice but to ride out any future storms as a result of oil-price whiplash. A sales tax — a tax that’s stable, easy to administer and costs less to collect than income taxes — would provide Albertans with a better alternative. Both public and private sector workers deserve better than accepting the status quo of boom and bust.

[Fuzz]

I guess they've found other ways to get income form Albertans...

A Calgary senior, who says she's had diabetes and heart disease for more than two decades, is fighting back after being billed for her COVID-19 vaccine despite being eligible for a free shot.


Sharon Mason, 80, received her COVID vaccine in early November, after calling Health Link to confirm she qualifies for a free dose.


So, Mason — who is on a fixed income, lives in subsidized seniors housing and receives the Alberta Seniors Benefit — was shocked when she got a bill in the mail from Alberta Health Services for $100.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...rise-9.7000404


Are they auditing everyone after the fact to see if the qualify? If so, this is the biggest waste of time and money to prevent people accessing preventative care any government could imagine to come up with. It should be free and accessible. Idiots. Everyone who voted in an anti-vaxer as premier is an idiot. Yes, you too.