Premier Smith announces new inflation relief programs for Albertans
A flurry of inflation relief programs is on the way for Albertans, Premier Danielle Smith announced on Tuesday amid inflation woes.
Smith announced the programs to help Albertans with the cost of living during her first televised provincial address as Premier.
“We are facing a difficult time,” Smith said at the start of her address before going into details of the province’s new Inflation Relief Act.
Smith said although details are still being finalized, the act will have measures that include the suspension of the entire provincial fuel tax for at least the next six months, and make the current fuel relief program permanent thereafter.
Back in April, the Alberta government suspended the gas tax collection, reducing the price at the pump by 13 cents per litre as motorists struggled with rising gas prices alongside record-setting inflation.
In October the province started to partially resume its gas tax collection, saving Albertans 8.5 cents on every litre of gas and diesel at the pump.
The province will also provide $200 per home in rebates on consumer electricity bills from January to April, and will also limit spikes in winter electricity rates.
The current natural gas rebate will also be continued, and the province will also index all provincial tax brackets retroactive to 2022.
The act will also see $600 over six months be given to parents for each child under the age of 18 as well as for every senior, targeted to middle-income families with household incomes under $180,000.
That same amount will be provided for vulnerable Albertans collecting AISH, PDD and income support.
The province will also “invest in food banks and expand low-income transit passes to ensure every Albertan has access to food and mobility for their families,” Smith added.
“These are just first steps, and there’s much more to do.”
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