Albertans could receive inflation support, Kenney reveals on his radio show
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has indicated his United Conservative government will reveal details next week about additional support to help people deal with high inflation.
Earlier this week when Finance Minister Jason Nixon announced a $3.9 billion surplus at the end of the 2021-22 fiscal year ending March 31, Nixon said one of the goals was to examine further ways to help Albertans get through the current stretch of rising prices.
The province already cut its share of the gasoline tax earlier this spring and $150 in electricity rebates will soon flow to cushion the impact of inflation.
On Saturday, while responding to a question about inflation that was put to him by a caller on his provincewide phone-in radio show on CHQR and CHED, Kenney said there will be an announcement about more support, which he believed would come this week.
He did not elaborate on what the measures might be, and a spokesman did not immediately respond when emailed for details.
Kenney told his radio audience there are several explanations for high inflation, including federal monetary policy and large federal deficits, as well as energy shortages linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“Anyone who says there's just one simple explanation is fibbing,” Kenney said.
“I think most of the experts hope, or project, this will start to come off next year, but we're probably in for a few more months of high inflation.”
Kenney said he agreed with federal Conservative leadership contender Pierre Poilievre's assertion that the Bank of Canada was fueling inflation by, as Kenney put it, “printing tens and tens of billions of dollars of new fiat currency.”
Poilievre has threatened to fire Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem if elected prime minister.
Alberta's bread-and-butter oil and natural gas industries have soared in recent months as global economies ramped up while pandemic measures receded and Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupted worldwide energy supply.
Nixon said another plan for the windfall is to build up the province's $18.7 billion savings nest egg - the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund.
Shannon Phillips, finance critic for the Opposition NDP, said after the windfall was announced that the government is failing to deliver on promised funding for a range of public services, from education to ambulance response.
Kenney said Saturday that the surplus wouldn't have occurred if his government hadn't “exercised spending restraint.”
“One of the problems in modern Alberta is when we get an oil boom, we track our spending up and we spend what comes in. And then when our revenues come down, taxpayers are left holding the bag with debt,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Gangs netting up to US$3 trillion a year as Southeast Asia human trafficking becomes a global crisis, Interpol says
Human trafficking-fuelled fraud is exploding in Southeast Asia with organized crime rings raking in close to US$3 trillion in illicit revenue annually, the head of Interpol has said in comments that reveal the huge profits being earned by cartels.
Robotic police dog shot multiple times, credited with avoiding potential bloodshed
A robotic dog named Roscoe is being thanked by state police in Massachusetts for helping avert a tragedy involving a person barricaded in a home.