Alberta
Calgary Beer is Back! Calgary Craft Brewer reimagines one of Alberta’s most iconic brands
From technology, to communication, all the way to beer, our world is changing more rapidly every day. Who could have imagined how the brewing industry would be turned upside down by craftsmen and entreupreneurs who risk it all for their passion to create a better product right in their community?
In a world that used to be very predictable, everyday another new craft beer hits the market. It’s hard to keep up, though many of us are doing our best. Despite all the excitement around the new tastes and all the clever marketing needed to get those beers into our hands, we all know a few people who are ‘holding out’. Maybe they don’t like change. Maybe they don’t know where to start. Maybe they’re perfectly fine with the same safe brew they’ve been tasting for their entire adult lives. Maybe they should know one of Alberta’s finest craft brewers is bringing back a familiar brand, offering a ton of comfort and enjoyment, one sip at a time.
The renowned brand “Calgary Beer” is back! And of all the craft brewers in Southern Alberta, Village Brewery is the natural choice to have taken on this “reimagined” project. Village Brewery was established by seven veterans of the brewing business, all with an equal passion for beer, and for their community. It made perfect sense for this group to recognize their roots by recreating some local history in the town they love so much. Just in case you didn’t know, Village Brewery turns 10% of their profits, back to the Calgary community.
When Village Brewery Re-launched Calgary Beer they were nice enough to make their Head Brewer Jeremy McLaughlin available for a few questions.
Here’s Jeremy McLaughlin.
1) Why are you bringing “Calgary” back?
The Calgary Beer brand is an important part of beer history in Calgary. It dates back to 1892 and the brand imagery is iconic and represents the origins of beer in Calgary. At Village Brewery, we have always been about supporting the community and bringing people together around beer. The idea of being able to produce something under this brand just fits so well with what we stand for at Village. It’s special to us because we were given an awesome opportunity to modernize both the label and the recipe for today’s craft beer fans.
2) Is this the exact same “Calgary” I drank many years ago?
Since the core ideology of this was to modernize the brand, we were not going to be using the same Export Lager style or name and decided to go with “Craft Lager”. We felt this would reach the audience that Village reaches already. The main distinction, in terms of ingredients, is a significant hop character (from Ella, Sabro and Enigma), which make up the flavour profiles of a lot of craft beer.
3) Talk about the “craft” version. The can looks fantastic by the way. Curious about that and the beer itself.
The beer is really something that we as a brewery were looking to explore, a Craft Lager or dry-hopped lager is very much in the realm of beer profiles that can be interesting to new craft drinkers but something that experienced craft connoisseur would find interesting as well. A breakdown on ingredients and vital stats should get the conversation started here:
-ABV is 5.00%
-IBU: 15
-Colour: Light Gold
-Clarity: Light/Moderate Haze -Malt: Rahr 2-Row
-Yeast: Escarpment’s Krispy Kveik
-Hops: Ella, Sabro and Enigma (all mainly used as a dry-hop). These are symbolic to the ideology of the project (modernization and reimagining, while paying respect). These hops are developed through breeding programs, which modernized historical varieties of hops.
The can design was by Jackson and includes 4 versions
-A vintage throw-back to the original design
-A modernized vintage design featuring design concepts that are popular in craft breweries today (line art)
-A more high design variation that is black with the bull image wrapping the can
-A minimalistic version featuring a red backdrop and a white horseshoe, focusing on clean and crisp presentation
All Alberta residents can purchase this limited edition lager by clicking this link.
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
Related information |
-
Business2 days ago
Maxime Bernier warns Canadians of Trudeau’s plan to implement WEF global tax regime
-
Censorship Industrial Complex16 hours ago
Desperate Liberals move to stop MPs from calling Trudeau ‘corrupt’
-
International1 day ago
UN attacks stay-at-home motherhood as ‘gender inequality’
-
COVID-192 days ago
WHO Official Admits the Truth About Passports
-
Alberta1 day ago
Province to stop municipalities overcharging on utility bills
-
Energy1 day ago
Anti-LNG activists have decided that they now actually care for LNG investors after years of calling to divest
-
Alberta23 hours ago
Alberta government should create flat 8% personal and business income tax rate in Alberta
-
Housing24 hours ago
Trudeau’s 2024 budget could drive out investment as housing bubble continues