Jason Kenney and the UCP revealed documents Thursday that show a $12 billion deficit for 2019-2020, doubling the deficit by the previous NDP government.
The fiscal update did not provide a plan for economic growth or recovery and Minister Toews was not able to explain why the deficit grew before the pandemic and the drop in the global price of oil.
The NDP are calling on Finance Minister Travis Toews to come before the Public Accounts Committee to explain how last year’s deficit ballooned before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Alberta.
“The UCP are trying to use the pandemic to hide their economic failure. While the UCP try to lie about the state of our province’s economy before the pandemic hit, the numbers don’t.”
- @SPhillipsAB, NDP Finance Critic
The UCP’s claim that their economic plan was working before the pandemic is contradicted by the budget documents shared Thursday.
Despite Minister’s Toews claims, investment fell by 5% in 2019, the economy shrank by 0.6%, Alberta had lost 50,000 full-time jobs, and the flagship $4.7 billion corporate handout had failed to attract investment, or put Albertans back to work.
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A cell phone video leaked to Alberta’s NDP reveals the true extent of Danielle Smith’s coordinated political interference in the justice system on behalf of those charged following the Coutts blockade. 🧵
The video appears to capture a January 2023 video call between Danielle Smith and street pastor Artur Pawlowski, who faces charges of breaching a release order and mischief for inciting people to block public property at the border crossing at Coutts in January 2022.
“For freedom to be preserved, people must be willing to sacrifice their lives,” Pawlowski told a crowd. “This is our time. If this is our Alamo then so be it.” Prosecutors called Pawlowski’s actions “an overt threat to violence.”
Over four years in government, the UCP have failed to lower surgery wait times and they’ve actually increased, according to data available from the Government of Alberta. 🧵
More than 70,000 Albertans were waiting for surgeries in May 2019. That number has increased to 74,000 as of February 2023.
According to the Government’s own data:
From April 2019 to January 2023, median wait times have increased for hip replacements from 18.7 to 26.3 weeks and knee replacements have increased from 20.6 weeks to 36.9 weeks.
Franklin is a full-time pharmacist in Stettler, and the first-generation Canadian in her family who immigrated to Alberta from India.
Franklin currently lives in Parkdale in Stettler with her husband, and grew up in Edmonton.
Franklin holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Chicago State University, and a Bachelors in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Studies from University of The Sciences in Philadelphia.
On Monday, Savage was asked about a letter Danielle Smith wrote during her time as a corporate lobbyist advocating for the RStar program. In response, Savage said the program “didn’t align with Alberta’s polluter-pay principle and the royalty framework.”
“Alberta’s system has always been based on a core principle: when you make a mess, you clean it up. Danielle Smith wants to violate this basic principle to give away billions of dollars to her friends that helped get her elected.” NDP Energy Critic @KathleenGanley
An Edmonton woman’s name was added to the list of thousands of Albertans who can’t find a family doctor after she was notified she lost hers through a lottery. 🧵
Mona Koch has had the same family doctor for eight years, but in November she received an email informing her that due to changes in her practice, Koch’s doctor would no longer be able to continue providing medical care to her.
Koch, 62, learned that because other doctors left the clinic, her doctor would be taking on some of their patients, forcing her to drop some of her own patients.
A new report shows the UCP government’s plan to withdraw Albertans from the Canada Pension Plan will cost Albertans more in the long term while increasing the risk to their retirement savings. 🧵
According to documents acquired by Postmedia from Employment and Social Development Canada, the federal government anticipates that any provincial withdrawal from the CPP will lead to “duplicate administration, limited risk pooling, and greater risk on investment returns”.
UCP leadership candidates including presumed frontrunner Danielle Smith and former finance minister Travis Toews continue to support the idea despite widespread public backlash.