Which way will we pay for our vital public services?
- Despite all the media reports and shrill calls for cuts, Alberta does not have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem. We could raise billions of dollars simply by making our overall tax regime comparable to other provinces. In a new report, the AFL calls for a grown-up conversation about how we can pay for the vital public services Albertans want. To become a part of this conversation, join us as we launch our new report. For details …
Let the government know how much you still value public health care
- The Alberta government is pressing ahead with its controversial health-care plans, giving the public little opportunity to have a say. After intense pressure, it has reversed its policy on invitation-only meetings on the issue and is now allowing the public to attend. It also has an online survey, full of code words and language that replicates the rhetoric of Ralph Klein’s Third Way and the 2002 Mazankowski report. Privatization of our health-care system remains a threat. For information …
Spending cuts hurt youth and aboriginals just when they need help
- The Alberta government cut spending on employment training programs by $23 million, despite its own numbers showing dramatic job losses in the province. The recession is hurting young people, aboriginal people, workers in forestry industries, and workers in the construction trades, just to name a few. And yet, AFL analysis shows that the government targeted funding cuts to programs that benefit those Albertans. For press release …
Remember Bill 11? We do
- Bill 11 (Alberta Healthcare Protection Act) was introduced in April 2000. It was a blatant attempt by the government to privatize health care, but opposition through protests organized by labour and the Friends of Medicare forced the government to remove most of the offensive sections. For the poster …
Urgent Action
Sign the petition on the future of education in Alberta
- The Alberta Government intends to introduce a new School Act. This act needs to be based on some key principles, among them that educational success should not depend on the background, social status or economic characteristics of learners and their families. For Alberta to thrive, all children must have the opportunity to find and nurture their talent. To read more …
Events
June 21, 2010 – National Aboriginal Day
For more information on community events leading up to the celebration, go to: http://www.aboriginal.alberta.ca/documents/NAD_eventListJune16.pdf
June 22, 2010 – No Free Lunch: Financing the Priorities of Calgarians (Parkland Institute)
7:00 p.m., University Alberta Calgary Centre
120, 333 – 5 Avenue SW
For more information, go to http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=128332787200279&ref=mf
June 25, 2010 – 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; June 26, 2010 – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Labour Centre Meeting Hall (downstairs), 10425 Princess Elizabeth Avenue. For more information, go to: http://www.edlc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105:edmonton-municipal-election-training&catid=38:our-schools&Itemid=13
June 22, 2010 – Grande Prairie – Alberta Health Act Consultation
June 23, 2010 – Peace River – Alberta Health Act Consultation
Did you know …
- $5.5 billion – the amount Alberta could increase its revenue by abandoning the flat-rate income tax that benefits primarily wealthy Albertans;
- $10 billion to $18 billion – the amount Alberta could increase its revenue if it adopted an overall tax regime comparable to other provinces;
- $90 billion – the amount collected in non-renewable resource revenues since Alberta’s net debt was eliminated in 1999-2000;
- $4 billion – amount put into the Heritage Fund since 2000;
- $5 billion – amount withdrawn from the Heritage Fund in since 2000;
- $135 billion – amount that would be in the Heritage Fund if all resource revenues had been put in since 2000;
- $7 billion – how much would be generated annually by the Heritage Fund of $135 billion;
- $135 billion – (that’s another $135 billion) amount the province would have generated by collecting and saving resource rents at a rate closer to other oil-producing jurisdictions;
- $460 billion – the amount in Norway’s Heritage Fund.