Alberta
Alberta Country Music Awards announces 2018 Finalists
December 11th, 2018 (Edmonton, AB) – The Association of Country Music in Alberta (ACMA)™ is pleased to present your Final Nominees for the upcoming 2018 Alberta Country Music Awards™ presented by Stingray.
Winners will be announced at the 7th annual awards gala on January 27, 2019 at the Sheraton Red Deer Hotel (3310 50 Ave).
The evening will be hosted by Albertan country singer/songwriter and CCMA-winner Aaron Goodvin
“I am incredibly honoured to have been asked to host The ACMA’s in Red Deer this year. There is so much great Canadian country music that comes out of Alberta. I literally cannot wait to host my first ever awards show and I’m excited for it to be in my home province!” – Aaron Goodvin
Canadian country music fans are well acquainted with Goodvin’s music after winning the2018 Canadian Country Music Award (CCMA) for “Songwriter(s) of the Year” for his platinum single “Lonely Drum”. Goodvin was also nominated for the “Single of the Year”, and “SiriusXM Rising Star Award”.
Also a Warner/Chappell songwriter, Goodvin has landed cuts with Luke Bryan, Canaan Smith, Cole Swindell, and others. He was recently signed to Reviver Records in Nashville and fans can expect new music in 2019.
The 2018 ACMA™ awards weekend will occur on January 26 and 27. Events include the kick-off party, conference, seminars, fan fest, and the much-anticipated awards gala. Members of the ACMA™ have the privilege of voting to select the nominees for each category. The final round of voting to select the award-winners ends December 28, 2018.
Tickets and more information about the ACMA™ Awards Weekend are available on the ACMA Website
Without further ado, the nominees are:
Male Artist of the Year
Brad Saunders
Dan Davidson
Drew Gregory
Karac Hendriks
Ryan Langlois
Trevor Panczak
Female Artist of the Year
Alee
Andrea Nixon
Krissy Feniak
Lauren Mayell
Michela Sheedy
Group/Duo of the Year
Nice Horse
Renegade Station
The Dungarees
The Orchard
The Prairie States
Fans Choice
Dan Davidson
Drew Gregory
Hailey Benedict
Megan Dawson
Renegade Station
The Prairie States
Industry Person of the Year
Angie Morris – Sirroma Entertainment
Bill Borgwardt Performance Photography
Carla Hackman – Sakamoto Entertainment
Carly Klassen – Alberta Music
Johnny Gasparic – MCC Recording Studio
Sarah Scott – Golden West Radio
Musician of the Year
Johnny Gasparic
Josh Ruzycki
Lisa Dodd
Mitch Jay
Weston Blatz
Album of the Year
Along for the Ride – Renegade Station
Good Place to Start – Drew Gregory
Lost in the Right Direction – The Prairie States
Songs For Georgia – Dan Davidson
This Road is Mine – Karac Hendriks
Song of the Year
“Don’t Hold Back” – Written by: James Murdoch & Darren Gusnowsky
Performed by: The Dungarees
“Know Good” – Written by: Drew Gregory, Trinity Bradshaw, Brad Stella
Performed by: Drew Gregory
“Light > Dark” – Written by: Ryan Langlois & Duane Steele
Performed by: Ryan Langlois
“Mansplainin’” – Written by: Brandi Sidoryk, Tareya Green, Katie Biever, Jeff Dalziel
Performed by: Nice Horse
“Safe Harbour” – Written by: Kent Nixon, Luanne Carl, Doug Folkins
Performed by: Renegade Station
Single of the Year
“Don’t Hold Back” – The Dungarees
“Know Good” – Drew Gregory
“Play it By Beer” – Brad Saunders
“This Road is Mine” – Karac Hendriks
“Who’s Gonna Love Me Tonight” – Renegade Station
Country Venue of the Year
Boot Scootin Boogie Dancehall
Ranchman’s Cookhouse & Dancehall
Talent Buyer of the Year
Big Valley Jamboree
Calgary Stampede
Country Thunder
Ranchman’s Cookhouse & Dancehall
Sakamoto Agency
Rising Star
Karac Hendriks
Lauren Mayell
Nice Horse
The Prairie States
Trevor Panczak
Radio Station of the Year
93.1 The One Leduc
Wild 95.3 Calgary
Real Country 95.5 Red Deer
96.5 CKFM Olds
103.9 CISN FM Edmonton
Horizon Youth
Hailey Benedict
Krissy Feniak
Jonah Langlois
Hannah Gazso
Martina Dawn
Entertainer of the Year
Aaron Goodvin
Brett Kissel
Gord Bamford
Lindsay Ell
Paul Brandt
Video of the Year
“Don’t Hold Back” – The Dungarees
“Know Good” – Drew Gregory
“Let’s Go There” – Dan Davidson
“Mansplainin'” – Nice Horse
“Who’s Gonna Love Me Tonight” – Renegade Station
Alberta
Alberta government should create flat 8% personal and business income tax rate in Alberta
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America
Over the past decade, Alberta has gone from one of the most competitive tax jurisdictions in North America to one of the least competitive. And while the Smith government has promised to create a new 8 per cent tax bracket on personal income below $60,000, it simply isn’t enough to restore Alberta’s tax competitiveness. Instead, the government should institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Back in 2014, Alberta had a single 10 per cent personal and business income tax rate. As a result, it had the lowest top combined (federal and provincial/state) personal income tax rate and business income tax rate in North America. This was a powerful advantage that made Alberta an attractive place to start a business, work and invest.
In 2015, however, the provincial NDP government replaced the single personal income tax rate of 10 percent with a five-bracket system including a top rate of 15 per cent, so today Alberta has the 10th-highest personal income tax rate in North America. The government also increased Alberta’s 10 per cent business income tax rate to 12 per cent (although in 2019 the Kenney government began reducing the rate to today’s 8 per cent).
If the Smith government reversed the 2015 personal income tax rate increases and instituted a flat 8 per cent tax rate, it would help restore Alberta’s position as one of the lowest tax jurisdictions in North America, all while saving Alberta taxpayers $1,573 (on average) annually.
And a truly integrated flat tax system would not only apply a uniform tax 8 per cent rate to all sources of income (including personal and business), it would eliminate tax credits, deductions and exemptions, which reduce the cost of investments in certain areas, increasing the relative cost of investment in others. As a result, resources may go to areas where they are not most productive, leading to a less efficient allocation of resources than if these tax incentives did not exist.
Put differently, tax incentives can artificially change the relative attractiveness of goods and services leading to sub-optimal allocation. A flat tax system would not only improve tax efficiency by reducing these tax-based economic distortions, it would also reduce administration costs (expenses incurred by governments due to tax collection and enforcement regulations) and compliance costs (expenses incurred by individuals and businesses to comply with tax regulations).
Finally, a flat tax system would also help avoid negative incentives that come with a progressive marginal tax system. Currently, Albertans are taxed at higher rates as their income increases, which can discourage additional work, savings and investment. A flat tax system would maintain “progressivity” as the proportion of taxes paid would still increase with income, but minimize the disincentive to work more and earn more (increasing savings and investment) because Albertans would face the same tax rate regardless of how their income increases. In sum, flat tax systems encourage stronger economic growth, higher tax revenues and a more robust economy.
To stimulate strong economic growth and leave more money in the pockets of Albertans, the Smith government should go beyond its current commitment to create a new tax bracket on income under $60,000 and institute a flat 8 per cent personal and business income tax rate.
Author:
Alberta
Province to stop municipalities overcharging on utility bills
Making utility bills more affordableAlberta’s government is taking action to protect Alberta’s ratepayers by introducing legislation to lower and stabilize local access fees. Affordability is a top priority for Alberta’s government, with the cost of utilities being a large focus. By introducing legislation to help reduce the cost of utility bills, the government is continuing to follow through on its commitment to make life more affordable for Albertans. This is in addition to the new short-term measures to prevent spikes in electricity prices and will help ensure long-term affordability for Albertans’ basic household expenses.
Local access fees are functioning as a regressive municipal tax that consumers pay on their utility bills. It is unacceptable for municipalities to be raking in hundreds of millions in surplus revenue off the backs of Alberta’s ratepayers and cause their utility bills to be unpredictable costs by tying their fees to a variable rate. Calgarians paid $240 in local access fees on average in 2023, compared to the $75 on average in Edmonton, thanks to Calgary’s formula relying on a variable rate. This led to $186 million more in fees being collected by the City of Calgary than expected.
To protect Alberta’s ratepayers, the Government of Alberta is introducing the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024. If passed, this legislation would promote long-term affordability and predictability for utility bills by prohibiting the use of variable rates when calculating municipalities’ local access fees. Variable rates are highly volatile, which results in wildly fluctuating electricity bills. When municipalities use this rate to calculate their local access fees, it results in higher bills for Albertans and less certainty in families’ budgets. These proposed changes would standardize how municipal fees are calculated across the province, and align with most municipalities’ current formulas.
If passed, the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 would prevent municipalities from attempting to take advantage of Alberta’s ratepayers in the future. It would amend sections of the Electric Utilities Act and Gas Utilities Act to ensure that the Alberta Utilities Commission has stronger regulatory oversight on how these municipal fees are calculated and applied, ensuring Alberta ratepayer’s best interests are protected.
If passed, this legislation would also amend sections of the Alberta Utilities Commission Act, the Electric Utilities Act, Government Organizations Act and the Regulated Rate Option Stability Act to replace the terms “Regulated Rate Option”, “RRO”, and “Regulated Rate Provider” with “Rate of Last Resort” and “Rate of Last Resort Provider” as applicable. Quick facts
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