Federal budget will benefit all Albertans
By Lethbridge Herald on April 20, 2022.
Editor:
Recently, our federal Liberal government announced the 2022 budget, investing heavily in our economic growth. The budget is ambitious, yet realistic, in how it endeavours to move Canada beyond the unpredictability of the previous two years.
Key pieces that will benefit Alberta include creating a refundable investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects, returning proceeds from the price on pollution to small and medium sized businesses, wildfire mitigation supports, tax cuts for small businesses, and increasing Climate Action Incentive payments, meaning 8 out of 10 people in Alberta will receive increased funding.
In a move that will be welcomed by Lethbridge, with most families unable to obtain a doctor following the slash and burn practices of our provincial conservative government, the Foreign Credential Recognition Program will be expanded, allowing up to 11,000 internationally trained health care professionals per year to get their credentials and begin practicing in their field. In addition, the federal government will be providing $5.2 billion to Alberta through the Canada Health Transfer, and offering dental care to families with an income of under $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for families earning $70,000 or less, and adding budget lines towards increasing loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses in rural communities, addressing the opioid crisis, and increased mental health supports.
Our government will also be providing provinces and territories with an additional $2 billion to address surgery and procedure backlogs.
Another key commitment from the 2021 Liberal platform, and seen in the budget, is tackling home affordability.
While launching initiatives to assist in doubling the construction of new housing over the next decade, it includes steps to make home ownership a reality for more people, now.
These include the creation of a Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, allowing individuals under age 40 to set aside up to $40,000 tax-free towards their first home, as well as doubling the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit (up to $10,000), while introducing a Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights that eliminates blind bidding. The government also plans to launch a new Housing Accelerator Fund, which would create 100,000 net new affordable housing units.
Bold, decisive action is needed to get Lethbridge families ahead financially, protect our climate, and build for our children’s future. I ran in the last federal election because the Liberals had a plan to do just that. Budget 2022 delivers on that promise.
Devon Hargreaves
Lethbridge
12-11
Well said Devon. While Jason Kenney and his Reformers feed Albertans the lie that Trudeau is destroying us Trudeau is saving us whether we like it or not, yet many of our fellow seniors would rather believe the lies these Reformers feed them.
I am not a fan of Trudeaus but I am not going to ignore the facts. He has poured $30 billion into Alberta while these reformers taught their ignorant supporters he was stealing all our wealth.
This is proof:
” Alberta Received More From The Feds Than It Received From Revenues “
Any mention of how the NDP influenced housing and dental benefits in this budget? Also, carbon capture and storage: the jury might still be out on its safety and effectiveness, it has been perceived as being, still, a subsidy (courtesy of us taxpayers) for the oil and gas sector, and it does not deal with needing to decrease oil and gas production.
The doctor shortage is a sad reminder of how Canada is not training enough doctors, why we are not opening more spaces for students in med schools, and how cuts to postsecondary funding particularly in Alberta is a factor.
Any mention of how the feds can increase revenue? “Closing tax loopholes, stopping corporate offshore tax dodging, taxing e-commerce companies to level the playing field?” What of “increasing overall corporate tax rates, restoring capital gains inclusion rates, or, introducing a new wealth tax?” For many of us, this is a reminder of how the Liberals and Conservatives are the “Mouseland” black cats and white cats, all cats….same old.
I will never forget the nurses bawling their eyes out in my office when Klein destroyed their careers, nor the doctor with tears streaming down his face who told me he had six patients who desperately needed to be in a hospital and he couldn’t even get one in because of what Klein had done. There was an article written about the fact that there were 19,000 Canadian Trained doctors working in the U. S. because of how badly they had been treated by politicians in Canada and I certainly believe it. Some doctors told me there was no way they would go work in the U.S. because it was a nightmare trying to help patients try to deal with private for profit insurance companies and the chance of getting sued was so great, so they went to other provinces when Klein was kicking them around.
Now after cutting $9.4 billion off corporate taxes to benefit the rich Kenney is promising to cut 11,000 health care jobs . In other words he is proving that Reformers destroy jobs, they don’t create them, just like the former MLAs taught me.
Collecting proper royalties and taxes is a good first step along with all the things you mention but you know these Reformers would never help, looking after themselves and their rich friends is all they care about. You can bet Harper allowed them to do it.
Notley knew something had to be done and increased corporate taxes by 2% , along come Kenney and cuts them 4% , where is the intelligence in that? Albertans were damn fools for kicking her out when she was the one who would have fixed the mess we are in.
As long as we have Reformers convincing stupid seniors believing all their lies, and these seniors convincing their younger family members that he is right we have a problem.
A young man asked me about a years ago if I was another one of those stupid seniors who helped Jason Kenney get elected , like his stupid grandparents did. He him and his sister along with their parents were sick and tired of their stupid grandparents believing every lie Kenney feeds them.
Then there were the idiots at Spruce Meadows who gave Pierre Poilievre a standing ovation for promising to destroy the careers of thousands of young Canadians by scraping the CBC if he is elected. You should hear what my senior friends said about that , most still listen to the CBC. and know in remote areas of Canada that’s all the people have. .