Utility rate adjustment amounts to thievery
By Letter to the Editor on August 28, 2021.
Editor:
As socialists-light run this province into a hole and even more rabid hard socialists chomp at the bit to run it into a deeper hole, playing their games, tinkering with democratic processes, tightening their grip on your homes, your life, your bank accounts – Lethbridge city council will debate “at a later council meeting”, “rule 034 from the AUC” authorizing any utility provider to add to all customer’s utility bills in the fall of 2021 a theft disguised as a “Utility Deferral Adjustment”. This theft – this “adjustment” a debit on your bank account, with you having zero say in the matter, will pay for multitudes of delinquent utility non-payers who didn’t meet their repayment commitment and the deadline of June 18, 2021.
So because some didn’t square up with their utility provider, UCP sanctions downloading the debts of delinquent non-payers onto those who did pay.
This is very, very dangerous territory folks – believe it!
The UCP has literally authorized, and unashamedly so, the theft of money directly from your bank account. Make no mistake about it the NDP would act exactly the same, just more cunningly.
This legislation passed May 2020. Did anyone notice? Do you care? Do you realize the Pandora’s Box this represents?
Dale Nally, associate minister of Natural Gas and Electricity, recently stated that “this small temporary rate rider” ensures that delinquent debt will be repaid in “the most transparent and straightforward manner.” I’m damn mad about such ludicrous thuggery, stealing from me.
Looking back, I ponder if the destitute homeless kid in 1967, living in a $50, 15-year-old Chevy, on Woodward’s parking lot in Calgary, struggling 24/7 to stay alive, never stealing, nor taking a nickel from anyone, clawing through unearned tragedies/poverty born into, could have fathomed such malfeasance.
I couldn’t have predicted – nor imagined – such thievery by my government being my reward for years of dedication to community, home, family and country.
Get off your duffs people – scream like hell – tell these thieves you will not be buried by their socialist wealth distribution programs without a fight and a protest!
A.W. Shier
Lethbridge
-1
The deregulation of utilities in Alberta: “corporations win, citizens lose.”
Isn’t Shier ignoring what former MLAs from the Lougheed era said about Notley. She was a lot more like Peter Lougheed and was on the right track. With her praise of Peter Lougheed , she was the only one smart enough to campaign, here in Edmonton, on gradually increasing corporate taxes back up to the Lougheed levels and was planning to do the same with royalties. In fact I think it 2021 when she had planned to start increasing royalties.
She put caps on our power bills so we couldn’t be gouged, caps on school fees, and day care fees and Kenney scraped them. She was building the 55 schools that we needed that these Reformers left us short of, approved the building of a Super Lab in Edmonton, That would have helped doctors save more lives and was planning to start building 2,800 new long term health care beds that we desperately need. Lawyers, accountants, oilmen, bankers all knew what she was doing was the only way we would get out of this mess and that’s why Albertans want her back.
Yes she was spending money , but you have to fix the mess these fools created for us and she would have been able to pay it off in a very short time with the increase in royalties and taxes.
Albertans weren’t smart enough to realize that she couldn’t fix in only four years what these fools created in twenty five.
how can a person “understand” something so utterly backward? this is not socialism: it is capitalism at its most corrupt. a tiny handful of cos own our utilities, and the rates pretty much amount to exactly the same no matter which robber you try to shop. kind of like gasoline…no, a spitting image of the gasoline cos. we are gouged because there are no alternatives in a marketplace that is cooked to steal maximum profits from the masses. is there a difference if there is a monopoly of one, or a group of players that act in concert as one? hardly.
it is called price fixing which is illegal but cannot be proven in court, because our legal system protect them. can’t use if it walks like a duck quacks kike a duck so it’s a duck
also the rules of competition have changed to: if you can sell it for 1% more then me, then I can sell it for for 1.5% more than you, if I throw in a chep gift to entice customers.
disagree, it is socialistic capitalism, exploit capitalism to create a socialist environment for the few!
I am also outraged by the Government’s decision, but I am hardly surprised. That said, I have a couple of questions for you Mr. Shier. First, what is your definition of socialism? It certainly doesn’t appear to stack up against any definition of which I am aware. Second, how can you possibly be surprised by the government’s actions here? Have you not noticed the extent to which the UCP, and previous iterations of that party, have long been in bed with corporate Alberta? Did the corporate tax cut, which has been used mainly for executive compensation and share buy-back schemes sail past without you noticing? And did you not notice the Government’s support a pipeline that had a less than 50% chance of being built?
I am no fan of the UCP but you tweaked me. If O’toole were to say that if elected he would stop some major infrastructure that is ongoing would you cease operations? I would suppose if you were XX days from the election you may play the odds. But lets say the election was two years away, would you stop that infrastructure now to see who wins? At what point do you take the Government in Powers agreement as solid and when do you decide its not worth the paper its written/signed on?
Want a great example of Governments that procrastinate based on Election Cycles? Military Procurement in Canada. How many times has New Aircraft, ships, submarines, troop support equipment been planned in the early stage of a Gov that expires with the changeover?
Its why are military equipment is always bungy corded or wired to work. So now you suggest we should approach international agreements the same way, strange?
Its the era of entitlements. People now feel they have entitlements to everything, everything that others in the past had to work for. Its why I suggested a local independent who wants to go to Ottawa, run as the Communist Party Rep. We have more people that are more Socialist then the Socialists? What we now have is a bunch of people who do not want to work for a living and believe everyone else should pay their way.
Sadly, I debated a bunch of druggies on FB and they were adamant that the Charter of Rights and Freedom stated they were “entitled to Free Food and Lodgings. They truly believed it, when I found the article, it stated you have the right to free access to Food and Lodgings. It would seem they assume, access is the same as the “right too”.
They feel that all the money I earned somehow should be contributed to a pool to support them? The term marginalized is now being thrown around in various combinations to include virtually anyone that does not want to work. I am marginalized so need free clothes, food, lodgings, and government money so I can at least put a bone in my nose, or pierce myself 37 times with various things because I have decided I am not a he or she and need an identity?
I also need to have you address me as non binary, whatever the hell that means? You also are Socially Unacceptable if you do not know how to address me as Sir, Maam, IT, or otherwise. I take drugs because I cannot figure which genitalia I should have, and can’t cope with the ones I do have so I need financial help to deal with my struggles! Or I take drugs and piss $3000 up against the wall every month but you should still respect me and even though I steal everything I can get my hands on to support my habit! Your government does not give me enough money free every month! I can barely support my habit and lead a better life than the working stiff on the small stipend I get from YOUR Government! Its not my government because I am a free spirit and must be unimpeded in my pursuits in life.
The importance of being Socially Acceptable drives 99% of the politicians because there are so many that define what is or is not Socially Acceptable. Decisions are made now based on Face Book likes, not using good governance!
What I am amused at is this group thinks they are improving society. Look at Trudeau, never has a person existed that divides a country as well as he, while actually believing he is trying to bring people together?
All I can say is, its good to be old!
It certainly does amount to thievery.
Did the provincial government approve this from pressure from the city governments? They would have to make up the short fall out of their pockets and not directly the residents? The city has blocks of energy that they buy or request from providers?
The city makes huge profits with these contracts. The breaks oked during covid have come back to bite us all it appears?
I do not get my electricity or gas thru the city but direct energy . It seems that they will be able to collect more to make up the short fall as well?
The city gets the municipal franchise fee as well as a portion of the other blood sucker fees?
Never do direct debit with governments especially. Will have to pay this increase any way but don’t make it soo easy for them to help themselves.
I have talked to landlords whose renter’s pay their electricity bills to the city. Some of these landlords have gotten calls from the city looking for their renters. As they owe the city hundreds of dollars towards their electricity bills. One person I know called and complained to the city for being cut off.The city hooked them up again without a cent paid. Some people know every well how to play the system. Although, some people are really stuck and needy. This particular person ,I know personally didn’t go without smokes, cannibis or gas for their big truck the whole time it took to owe the city (and now me/us)$4000 worth of utility bills. Why did the city let some of these bills get soo high? Some people seem to think they are entitled to free electricity/gas. Are city governments limited in how they can manage their clients who owe? Can they take them to court for back pay? Why are the rest of us sitting ducks? Some seniors and working poor (Lethbridge has alot)will find this very difficult to find the money to pay this.
Freezing in the dark doesn’t reduce your bill much because of all the bloodsucker fees on these types of bills.