Alberta
Status of Women Minister issues statement about Sexual Violence Awareness Month
Sexual Violence Awareness Month: Minister Aheer
May 09, 2019
Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women Minister Leela Aheer issued the following statement about Sexual Violence Awareness Month:
“Sexual abuse affects every single person. It’s not somebody else’s problem; it’s ours. The protection of vulnerable women and those who have experienced sexual violence is dear to the heart of our Premier, and to mine. We recognize survivors of sexual violence and thank them for their courage in coming forward to share their stories and for their determination to help build a brighter, safer future for all.
“Our friends, our families, our neighbours and our co-workers who have experienced any form of sexual violence or harassment should feel empowered to come forward to share their stories and access supports. We all need to work together to create safe and inclusive communities and wrap our arms around survivors and end the stigma surrounding these traumatic events. This is our collective responsibility.
“We know more work needs to be done and are committed to supporting frontline workers so they can respond effectively to sexual violence and help survivors heal. I want to share my sincere gratitude to all frontline workers in sexual assault centres, women’s shelters and crisis centres across the province.
“We all have a role in preventing and ending sexual violence. During Sexual Violence Awareness Month, and throughout the year, I ask everyone to take action to help survivors and keep Albertans safe. Alberta, let’s show our support by finding opportunities to get involved in our communities, talking to children and youth about healthy relationships and consent, modelling respect and speaking out against sexual violence in all its forms. We must shine bright lights into the dark corners where survivors see a hand reaching out to them. Together, we can build an Alberta that is free of sexual assault and sexual abuse and safe for everyone.”
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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