Alberta
More dollars going into classrooms to support today’s students
Staffing projections show up to 1,600 more teachers and support staff will be hired in the upcoming school year. Alberta’s government is also providing school authorities additional funding to support higher salaries for teachers, address enrolment growth and support francophone education.
More staff in schools
School authorities are projecting up to 800 more teachers and principals will be hired in the upcoming school year. This represents an increase of 2.2 per cent from the certificated staff in the 2021/22 school year and means more teachers in the classroom supporting Alberta’s students.
Additionally, an increase of approximately 800 support staff is also expected. This includes classroom-based educational and teacher assistants and represents an increase of 3.1 per cent from the previous school year.
“I’m thrilled to see more teachers and educational assistants will be hired in the coming school year. Alberta’s school board reserve policy has played an important role in directing today’s education dollars towards today’s students.”
Funding to support higher salaries for teachers
Alberta’s government is also providing up to an additional $50 million in 2022/23 to cover recently ratified bargaining agreements with teachers. By funding these agreements, Alberta’s government is further ensuring stability for school authorities.
“ASBA appreciates that the government will provide funding for the recently ratified teacher bargaining agreements in addition to providing targeted supports for enrolment growth as school boards face rapidly increasing student populations. This funding will help offset pressures and enable boards to address operational needs while they continue to make informed decisions in support of students and their local school communities across Alberta.”
“ASBOA welcomes the commitment to fund teacher collective agreements, and the additional funding to support enrolment growth and francophone education in Alberta. This announcement provides greater funding certainty for publicly funded education as we are about to start a new school year.”
Additional funding for enrolment growth
More than $7 million in additional funding will be provided to school authorities through a new enrolment growth grant. Early childhood services (ECS) operators will also receive support if they see significant enrolment increases.
The funding available through this new supplemental enrolment growth grant provides for additional student funding for authority enrolment growth above a set threshold, with higher rates for more growth.
“While the CASS Board of Directors recognizes that the current funding formula softens the impact of enrollment decline, we are pleased to see that this announcement will allow divisions to better meet their needs when addressing significant enrollment growth.”
“The Association of Independent Schools & Colleges in Alberta appreciates the additional funding that is being allocated to school authorities that are seeing significant growth. The Supplemental Enrollment Grant will allow schools to better meet the needs of a growing student population, and ensure their students receive an educational experience that prepares them for future success.”
Redesigned grant for francophone school authorities
About $5 million in additional funding will be provided to francophone school boards through an updated francophone equivalency grant. This increased investment means that in the 2022/23 school year, Alberta Education will allocate $7 million to francophone school authorities to support francophone education in Alberta.
“The Fédération des conseils scolaires francophones de l’Alberta welcomes the announcement of an adjustment to school funding to better meet the needs of francophone students in the province. We appreciate the collaborative work that has taken place over the past few months to make the challenges faced by francophone school boards heard. Their reality is unique and the response to their challenges must, by that very fact, be unique.”
Quick facts
- Increased staffing levels will be supported by the use of operating reserves in the 2022/23 school year.
- The Minister of Education recently approved 64 requests to use operating reserves for the 2022/23 school year. This included $88 million in requests for reserves to be spent on staffing, instruction and educational assistants.
- By the end of the 2022/23 school year, maximum operating reserve amounts will be set for school boards, as described in the Funding Manual for School Authorities to ensure public dollars go to educational purposes in the same year the funding is provided.
- The limit on allowable reserve balances was signaled to school jurisdictions with the new funding model in 2020.
- School authorities will also receive additional funding from the province to support higher than expected fuel costs, while monthly average diesel prices exceed $1.25 per litre.
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:
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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