Affordability Plan Released Along with Foreshadowing
Some Albertans will soon have the ability to apply for the province’s inflation relief measures promised last year by the UCP government. We’ve known for some time that eligible Albertans would receive $100 each month for six months as a means of providing some financial relief, but we now have details about how the program will be rolled out.
Certain residents will not need to complete an application to receive their funds from the province. These include:
· Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH)
· Income Support
· Alberta Seniors Benefit
· Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD)
· Foster and Kinship Caregivers
Seniors over 65 years of age and families with children under 18 years of age (both for households earning less than $180,000 per year) will be required to create a verified account on the Alberta Government website in order to apply for the benefit. The portal will open on January 18th while funding is expected to roll out on January 31st. Applicants can also apply in person at a registry office in their community. Families will receive $600 in relief per child under 18 years of age in the household.
According to the government’s website, “applications can be submitted until June 30, with payments being retroactive to include previous months when a person was eligible.”
The province estimates that the total cost of the payments will be around $900 million with around 2.5 million Albertans being eligible. The payments will be treated as tax exempt income for AISH and income support recipients.
Government Answering for Certain Decisions
The province confirmed that it would be utilizing its own portal for the funding rather than integrating with the Canada Revenue Agency in the interest of expediency, saying it would take months to roll out that way. A reporter during the press conference asked about this, saying British Columbia rolled out a similar program with CRA recently. Minister Nate Glubish responded by indicating that Albertans can integrate with CRA themselves via their verified accounts through the province, adding it would have taken months to integrate with CRA to determine automatic eligibility.
Questions were also raised about how the government landed on $100 per month for inflation support. Minister Matt Jones explained that “we looked at the estimated incremental burden that inflation is placing on families on a per-child basis, and its around $90 per month.”
“The intent is to provide children and families with as much flexibility and normally as possible.”
During the press conference, the government confirmed that Alberta will be using 2021 tax data to determine eligibility, a decision that could potentially leave thousands of new parents with children born in 2022 without access to provincial inflation relief.
Additional Affordability Items
Although no details or hints were really provided about what supports might come, a line of reporter questioning at the press conference focused on tackling auto insurance rates as well as post-secondary student supports. On the insurance piece, Minister Jones indicated that all options are currently being explored and are on the table – including a potential cap to insurance rates.
Back in 2019, the province decided to eliminate the 5% rate increase cap implemented by the former NDP government. This issue has been raised often throughout the latter part of 2022 due to the impact of inflation across the board with government looking for ways to improve affordability for Albertans. Prior to the sessional break, the NDP introduced a private member’s bill that proposes to freeze current rates for one year.
Mere months away from an election where affordability is expected to be a top-three voter issue, expect both of Alberta’s major political parties to release comprehensive platform packages to make their pitch to residents. For now, eligible Albertans will wait for their inflation relief cheques to be sent out.
