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Alberta

Province calling out for volunteers and honouring Albertans who support their community

Published

4 years ago

7 minute read

premier Jason kenney

From the Province of Alberta

Call to action for COVID-19 volunteers

Albertans have always risen to the call of duty when our province has been challenged, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no different. Today, the Government of Alberta is launching a new tool to connect Albertans with volunteer opportunities during this unprecedented global crisis, and launching the Northern Lights program to recognize Albertans who volunteer to support their community.

While physical distancing and gathering restrictions are in place, there is still a need for healthy volunteers to help those in need with countless opportunities to do so. The Alberta Cares Connector embraces the Alberta spirit of supporting the vulnerable by offering our assistance, skills and time to those who need it most.

“Volunteerism is the Alberta way. I continue to be inspired by many acts of Albertan generosity and compassion. From the Sikh community providing meals for truckers keeping our supply lines open, to a Calgary woman in her time of mourning sewing masks for her community, to kids leaving care packages on their elderly neighbours’ doorsteps – the examples of generosity and selflessness are endless. The Alberta Cares Connector will build off this community solidarity and ensure that those who can help will make the biggest impact during this time when support is acutely needed. The Northern Lights program keeps a platform commitment to spotlight those who personify the Alberta sprit by giving back to our community through volunteerism.”

Jason Kenney, Premier

Volunteers are the foundation for many community organizations providing social support and assistance to those in need. Alberta has more than 26,400 non-profit organizations and, each year, more than 1.6 million Albertans provide more than 262 million volunteer hours to support the non-profit and voluntary sector at a value of $5.6 billion.

“Albertans are proud to have the highest volunteer rates across Canada, and we take action in countless ways to meet the needs of our communities and neighbours. During this unprecedented crisis, Albertans understand that the need for volunteerism and social support is urgent. And, once again, they have demonstrated their commitment to their neighbours and communities through selfless acts of service. The Alberta Cares Connecter will assist Albertans who want to help at this time by connecting them with local volunteer opportunities to help those most in need.”

Leela Sharon Aheer, Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women

This new tool will build on the success of every day Albertans who answered the call to action by providing an easy one-stop-shop for those looking for service opportunities. The Alberta Cares Connector will ensure those organizations and programs that depend on the generosity and assistance of volunteers are able to continue to provide support to those in need.

“We are thrilled about our collaboration with the province on the new Alberta Cares Connector. We’ve supported volunteering through floods and fires and built a platform that could be flexible to allow volunteers to rise to any challenge. Alberta Cares Connector will continue to evolve and create new ways for community organizations to connect with current and prospective volunteers who want to answer the call to help others in need.”

Doug Watson, president and CEO, Volunteer Centre of Calgary

Volunteers and volunteer organizations must follow all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to protect themselves and those they help. More information on safety and physical distancing guidelines can be found at alberta.ca/COVID19.

Ways people can help

  • Volunteering at food banks.
  • Sewing masks or scrub bags for front-line health-care workers.
  • Providing meals for essential service workers, like truckers.
  • Picking up groceries for those unable to leave their homes.
  • Packing and delivering essential needs for vulnerable Albertans.
  • Donating blood through myaccount.blood.ca.
  • Donating items to shelters in need.
  • Reaching out to seniors through positive messages or phone calls.

Northern Lights Volunteer Recognition Program

Government is also launching the Alberta Northern Lights Volunteer Awards to honour everyday heroes as the province responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. The honourees will be nominated by fellow Albertans and selected for profiling on the program’s website and through social media.

There are no requirements for hours of service, and any individual or group who helps out in their community is eligible for an award. The nomination submission requests a brief story about the nominee’s contribution. Nominations will be accepted online on an ongoing basis.

“Volunteers are the heart of non-profits and right now we need Albertans to give their time and talents to community organizations. Any act of volunteerism, done safely, will make a huge difference. That’s why the Government of Alberta is making a point of recognizing those individuals, businesses and organizations who have answered the call in this time of need. Let’s share the uplifting and inspirational stories of special volunteers who are brightening the lives of others and their communities during this difficult time by nominating them for an Alberta Northern Lights Volunteer Award. ”

Jeremy Nixon, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Community and Social Services

The program is now accepting nominations.

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After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Alberta government should eliminate corporate welfare to generate benefits for Albertans

Published on May 2, 2024

By

From the Fraser Institute

By Spencer Gudewill and Tegan Hill

Last November, Premier Danielle Smith announced that her government will give up to $1.8 billion in subsidies to Dow Chemicals, which plans to expand a petrochemical project northeast of Edmonton. In other words, $1.8 billion in corporate welfare.

And this is just one example of corporate welfare paid for by Albertans.

According to a recent study published by the Fraser Institute, from 2007 to 2021, the latest year of available data, the Alberta government spent $31.0 billion (inflation-adjusted) on subsidies (a.k.a. corporate welfare) to select firms and businesses, purportedly to help Albertans. And this number excludes other forms of government handouts such as loan guarantees, direct investment and regulatory or tax privileges for particular firms and industries. So the total cost of corporate welfare in Alberta is likely much higher.

Why should Albertans care?

First off, there’s little evidence that corporate welfare generates widespread economic growth or jobs. In fact, evidence suggests the contrary—that subsidies result in a net loss to the economy by shifting resources to less productive sectors or locations (what economists call the “substitution effect”) and/or by keeping businesses alive that are otherwise economically unviable (i.e. “zombie companies”). This misallocation of resources leads to a less efficient, less productive and less prosperous Alberta.
And there are other costs to corporate welfare.

For example, between 2007 and 2019 (the latest year of pre-COVID data), every year on average the Alberta government spent 35 cents (out of every dollar of business income tax revenue it collected) on corporate welfare. Given that workers bear the burden of more than half of any business income tax indirectly through lower wages, if the government reduced business income taxes rather than spend money on corporate welfare, workers could benefit.

Moreover, Premier Smith failed in last month’s provincial budget to provide promised personal income tax relief and create a lower tax bracket for incomes below $60,000 to provide $760 in annual savings for Albertans (on average). But in 2019, after adjusting for inflation, the Alberta government spent $2.4 billion on corporate welfare—equivalent to $1,034 per tax filer. Clearly, instead of subsidizing select businesses, the Smith government could have kept its promise to lower personal income taxes.

Finally, there’s the Heritage Fund, which the Alberta government created almost 50 years ago to save a share of the province’s resource wealth for the future.

In her 2024 budget, Premier Smith earmarked $2.0 billion for the Heritage Fund this fiscal year—almost the exact amount spent on corporate welfare each year (on average) between 2007 and 2019. Put another way, the Alberta government could save twice as much in the Heritage Fund in 2024/25 if it ended corporate welfare, which would help Premier Smith keep her promise to build up the Heritage Fund to between $250 billion and $400 billion by 2050.

By eliminating corporate welfare, the Smith government can create fiscal room to reduce personal and business income taxes, or save more in the Heritage Fund. Any of these options will benefit Albertans far more than wasteful billion-dollar subsidies to favoured firms.

Authors:

Spencer Gudewill
Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute
and
Tegan Hill
Associate Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute
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Alberta

Official statement from Premier Danielle Smith and Energy Minister Brian Jean on the start-up of the Trans Mountain Pipeline

Published on May 1, 2024

By

Alberta is celebrating an important achievement for the energy industry – the start-up of the twinned Trans Mountain pipeline. It’s great news Albertans and Canadians as this will welcome a new era of prosperity and economic growth. The completion of TMX is monumental for Alberta, since this will significantly increase our province’s output. It will triple the capacity of the original pipeline to now carry 890,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia’s Pacific Coast.
We are excited that Canada’s biggest and newest oil pipeline in more than a decade, can now bring oil from Edmonton to tide water in B.C. This will allow us to get our energy resources to Pacific markets, including Washington State and California, and Asian markets like Japan, South Korea, China, and India. Alberta now has new energy customers and tankers with Alberta oil will be unloading in China and India in the next few months.
For Alberta this is a game-changer, the world needs more reliably and sustainably sourced Alberta energy, not less. World demand for oil and gas resources will continue in the decades ahead and the new pipeline expansion will give us the opportunity to meet global energy demands and increase North American and global energy security and help remove the issues of energy poverty in other parts of the world.
Analysts are predicting the price differential on Canadian crude oil will narrow resulting in many millions of extra government revenues, which will help fund important programs like health, education, and social services – the things Albertans rely on. TMX will also result in billions of dollars of economic prosperity for Albertans, Indigenous communities and Canadians and create well-paying jobs throughout Canada.
Our province wants to congratulate the Trans Mountain Corporation for its tenacity to have completed this long awaited and much needed energy infrastructure, and to thank the more than 30,000 dedicated, skilled workers whose efforts made this extraordinary project a reality. The province also wants to thank the Federal Government for seeing this project through. This is a great example of an area where the provincial and federal government can cooperate and work together for the benefit of Albertans and all Canadians.
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