On Monday afternoon, the Saskatchewan government announced it will cut the $500 checks for every resident 18 and over sometime in the fall. In a video posted on social media, Premier Scott Moe said the reason for the money was because of higher revenue from resources reported in the first quarter of this year. “You own the resources and you should take advantage when those resource prices are high,” he said in the video. In response to the news, the Alberta government told CTV News that it, too, enjoyed higher revenue from resources this year. However, the premier’s office didn’t want to spill the beans about any kind of rebate Albertans could put in their pockets. “Like Saskatchewan, Alberta will present our first quarter fiscal update this month, which will reflect increased resource revenue due to increased prices in recent months,” Premier Jason Kenney’s spokesman Justin Bratinga said in an email. . “We look forward to letting Albertans know how our shared resources will benefit families across the province.”
“LED CANADA GIVE YOU RELIEF”
While it has been more than 15 years since the provincial government handed out rebates to Albertans based on resource revenue, the Alberta government says it has done a lot to help residents manage the high costs. Two of these discounts are directly linked to energy costs – but only if certain things happen. A discount for natural gas is expected to take effect if prices rise above $6.50 per gigajoule, but only after Oct. 1. There is also an electricity rebate, but Kenney said earlier this year that it would be based on favorable conditions in Alberta. “If the economy is strong and our fiscal situation continues to improve, we are open to providing additional relief to consumers,” he told reporters in May. One of the other methods the government used to help Albertans with costs was a pause in the provincial gas tax, which immediately reduced the price of fuel by more than 13 cents. But the tax will return once the price of West Texas Intermediate remains around US$90 per barrel. Officials say the government chose not to go ahead with a one-time payment for high gas prices, as some other provinces have done, because the tax drop would save more residents. He adds that the current strategy is saving Albertans a lot of money. “The Government of Alberta has led Canada in providing inflation relief and making life more affordable. From $300 in direct-to-consumer electricity rebates, to the elimination of the provincial gas tax, to upcoming gas rebates this winter, Albertans will keep more than $2 billion in their pockets this year and next,” Brattinga said. The Alberta government is expected to provide its first quarter update in late August.
“IT’S A STUPID POLICY”
Keith Brownsey, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, doesn’t think Alberta or any government should be offering rebates in the form of checks right now. “It sounds very similar to Ralph Bucks in 2005, and Ralph Bucks in 2005 was very good policy but absolutely awful policy. I mean, what is Saskatchewan thinking? Do they think this oil boom will continue? That this revenue will flow in? I just don’t know what they’re doing,” he said. Brownsey says that instead of sending checks home, governments should put excess funds into public services or leave for a rainy day. “I just shake my head and look at places like Alaska, New Mexico, Norway with a trillion dollar health fund. Why not put the money into the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust and use it to support health care, education and all those things we value as a collective?” he said. “That’s just bad politics, I’d say stupid, but… OK, I’ll say it. It’s a stupid policy.” (With files from CTV Regina)
