Lethbridge Herald e-Edition

Phillips says UCP government making life more expensive

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

As the government prepares to unveil its second-quarter financial update, Alberta NDP finance critic Shannon Phillips held a media availability on Monday to reveal a new analysis about the rising costs facing families and the negative impacts that UCP policies are having on household budgets.

“We’ve all seen those headlines around inflation, but it’s become even more real than that. All a person has to do is go to the grocery store or open an insurance bill. Our cost are going up,” said the Lethbridge-West MLA.

She stated that the average cost for a single family household has gone up by 4.7 per cent in the last year according to data from Statistics Canada.

Phillips added that some of those costs are outside of the control of the provincial government.

“But there are several decisions that Jason Kenney and the UCP cabinet have made, that directly make life more expensive and more difficult for Albertans at a time when we are still struggling due to their mismanagement of the pandemic,” said Phillips.

She stated that the UCP is taking more money out of the pockets of Albertans when the cost of everything is rising dramatically.

Phillips said that she hopes to see a plan that acknowledges that reality for ordinary people, because the most important budget is the one that Alberta families have to balance every month.

“Parents are looking at their bank accounts and wondering how they are going to afford Christmas and what those bills come January are going to look like,” said Phillips.

She added that other Albertans are struggling to keep the fridge stocked and the lights on and they need relief and government policies that focus on them.

Phillips said that what the UCP government has done is de-indexed personal income tax, child and family benefits, AISH income support and the seniors benefit. Which means that the deductions from income tax do not keep pace with inflation.

“Alberta families are also, as a direct result of UCP decisions paying more in property taxes, school fees, tuition, interest on student debt,” said Phillips.

“It’s time for Premier Jason Kenney and his finance minister to put their feet on the ground, get their head out of the clouds and focus on what is actually worrying ordinary people,” said Phillips.

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2021-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-30T08:00:00.0000000Z

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