Albertans can’t trust government when things get tough
By Lethbridge Herald on April 23, 2022.
Shannon Phillips
NDP MLA for Lethbridge West
Despite the chill in the air over the last week or so, spring is definitely taking hold in our city. From green shoots in our lawns to the inimitable purple flourishes of crocuses, it’s clear that warmer weather, longer days, and the relief of summer are just around the corner. After this winter, many of us will be relieved by the warmer temperatures not just for the opportunity to enjoy our yards and gardens, but for a brief (albeit small) reprieve from the sky-high utility costs that many of us have endured over the past winter. However, for many of us – especially after two years of staying close to home – the turning of the season also means planning our summer road trips, and realizing again just how expensive things have gotten under the Kenney government.
While it’s true – and obvious given the endemic infighting – that the UCP government doesn’t control everything, there are many things that they do control. For instance, some of the most important costs around our automobiles are among the things that are very much in the control of the provincial government – including how much we pay to insure our cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Before the UCP took power, insurance rates in the province were capped by provincial regulation, ensuring that Albertans could find more affordable auto insurance to protect themselves and other drivers and abide by the law. However, after the 2019 election, the Kenney government moved quickly to remove that cap on insurance after having been lobbied by the premier’s former chief of staff and campaign manager, who was then working for the large insurers. What resulted was a massive spike in the cost of auto insurance – even for the most safe and responsible drivers among us.
This month, after months of the government refusing to release the official report of Alberta’s Superintendent of Insurance – a report that had been published every year for 107 consecutive years – we finally got to see full accounting of what this costly and short-sighted decision has meant for our province. According to the report, over the last two years, insurance companies in the province have taken home enormous profits. Various independent sources have estimated increases in profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and overall profits soaring into the billions of dollars, all while Albertans saw their insurance bills climb by as much as 20 to 30 per cent since the rate cap was removed.
To put it bluntly, insurance companies in the province have made incredible profits while working families have been penalized for keeping their vehicles on the road – the very same vehicles that so many of us rely on to go to work or get our kids to school.
Unfortunately, this trend of protecting the interests of profitable companies and well-connected insiders while leaving Albertans to fend for themselves and their families is nothing new when it comes to the Kenney government.
This, after all, is the same UCP government that removed the rate caps for electricity allowing utility bills to sky rocket, mercilessly jacked up the cost of tuition for students and the families that support them, and created huge holes in our province’s social safety net to support a multi-billion dollar tax giveaway to profitable corporations. And yes, as we fuel up our cars and grit our teeth at our insurance bills this summer before heading off, many of us will also have to pay increased camping fees and new access fees to enjoy our province’s amazing natural heritage.
It’s clear that Albertans can’t trust this government – regardless of who’s in charge of it – to have our backs when the going gets tough. That’s why our province needs new leadership that’s clear-headed and thoughtful and values the concerns of everyday Albertans over the desires of profitable corporations or whatever palace intrigue might be happening that day. Everyday our caucus and our leader Rachel Notley are working to earn the trust of Albertans so that we can do the things that make a difference in people’s lives like making life more affordable so that it’s just a bit easier to make ends meet at the end of the month. I’ve always been proud to be on the side of everyday working people, and I’ll continue to stand up and make sure that even if this government isn’t listening, those voices are still heard in the chambers of power in Edmonton.
If you have had a recent increase to your insurance bills, or if you need the assistance of me or my office, please don’t hesitate to reach out by calling 403-329-4644 or by emailing Lethbridge.west@assembly.ab.ca.
11-10
Funny how some people will lose their minds over a 2 cent/l gas tax, but remain mum over a 70 cent/l gouge at the pumps, a 30% insurance hike, or a jump in utilities (while costs of production remain the same). I guess corporate profiteering is okay in the land of freedom.
Although, the AB NDP is well ahead for folk’s voting intentions as opposed to the stumbling, infighting, split UCP who can’t govern worth squat.
Yawn, another’s use another Phillips NDP rant. Break out the popcorn…..
Why don’t you campaign on opening another safe consumption site in downtown lethbridge. Cost the city millions of dollars in extra policing, agency costs, etc. It was so successful you should bring the success up in your next campaign. Will be enlightening to see how you spin this mess, the audit, and all the associated issues. People walking in areas of the City carrying 5’ long, 1.5” diameter dowels as a walking stick, (subtle deterrent) you would possibly classify this as creating a job at the lumber yard.
This:
“Documentary puts Alberta’s response to overdose crisis under a microscope….what’s worked, what’s failed, and what’s left to do….”
“We need prevention and education, safe withdrawal, medication-assisted treatment, supervised consumption, residential and day treatment options, and long-term recovery and relapse-prevention supports for patient and families.”
http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/documentary-puts-albertas-response-overdose-crisis-under-microscope
Quote all you want. It was an absolute mess and failure here. It is well documented. They treated no one out of addiction which is one of the four pillars. They talked a good game spent millions of dollars and had addicts die on their doorstep. Zero results.
Show us ‘the document’, buckshot.
Check it yourself. Oh alright, here is a good start.
https://calgarysun.com/opinion/columnists/bell-lethbridge-drug-site-a-shocking-mess-uncovered?fbclid=IwAR1H2Hg3Qu27Bg1ufljs_HaK-hagU3hKdaLx_bjmzQABJvWdcob_3x3WjCc
Further see CRA charities for documentation. That ought to keep you busy Sherlock
Well done. Another non-peer-reviewed Opinion in a newspaper. Why not ask Benny the Bear?
Here ya go smartass
https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/ucp-pulls-funding-to-lethbridge-supervised-consumption-site-following-audit