Alberta
E-coli shows up at more daycares in Calgary – Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health
Statement from Chief Medical Officer of Health
Dr. Mark Joffe, Chief Medical Officer of Health, issued the following statement on the E. Coli situation in Calgary:
“It has come to my attention that five additional daycare sites have had children attend who have tested positive for E. Coli. Some of these children are connected to daycares from the original outbreak. These additional facilities will be closed, out of an abundance of caution. Facilities will be required to be cleaned and sanitized and all children will be tested to confirm their negative status before returning to the centre. All facility operators have been contacted, and parents of these facilities will be directly notified as soon as possible by the operators working with Alberta Health Services.
“The six additional sites are:
- Active Start Country Hills
- CanCare Childcare – Scenic Acres location
- CEFA Early Learning Childcare North
- MTC Daycare
- Renert Junior Kindergarten
- Calgary JCC Child Care
“Additionally, Vik Academy is again closed for precaution pending testing results. This facility was part of the original closures.
“To all the parents involved in this terrible situation – we hear you and understand what you are going through. However, it is crucial for parents who have children who attend these daycares follow the guidance being given to them by health care professionals. If your daycare is closed, please respect why this is done and keep your children at home. Only send your child to another facility if they have tested negative for E. Coli and have no symptoms.
“To all daycare operators in the Calgary region – please confirm the health and daycare history of children who are new to your facility.
“By working together and following health guidance, we will stop this outbreak.
“Parents and staff from all impacted daycares involved are being provided with information about what to do if they or their children experience symptoms, test positive, or have concerns about the health and safety of their child. If your child is experiencing more severe symptoms, such as bloody diarrhea, they should be taken to an emergency department immediately.
“E. Coli is a highly transmissible bacteria that can be spread by food or water sources, or by hand to mouth contact. Some secondary transmission is common and expected in significant outbreaks such as this.”
The original 11 sites that were closed are:
- Fueling Brains Braeside
- Fueling Brains West 85th
- Fueling Brains New Brighton
- Fueling Brains Centennial
- Fueling Brains McKnight
- Kidz Space
- Vik Academy in Okotoks
- Fueling Brains Bridgeland
- Little Oak Early Education (formerly Mangrove)
- Almond Branch School
- Braineer Academy
Alberta
Alberta government should eliminate corporate welfare to generate benefits for Albertans
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:
Alberta
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