Western Standard - January 09, 2023


Affordability payments for struggling Albertans will be here by month's end


Episode Stats

Length

2 minutes

Words per Minute

171.70573

Word Count

354

Sentence Count

21


Summary

In this episode, Alberta s premier, Rachel Notley, talks about the new $100-per-month electricity rebate for children and families, and why she thinks it's a good idea. She also talks about how the rebate will help people who are renting, who don't see their electricity bills reflected in a rent, and who are in the dark because they don't get any money from this.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 We looked at the estimated incremental burden that inflation is placing on families on a per-child basis,
00:00:06.240 and it's around $90 per month, and so that is how we determine the $100 per month amount.
00:00:13.500 Do you expect this to really change lives in Alberta?
00:00:17.820 Like, it doesn't seem like a lot of money to me.
00:00:20.700 I know $100 lasts a second.
00:00:23.840 When you're out doing something, do you think it's going to change lives?
00:00:27.100 I hope so.
00:00:27.760 But certainly the intent is to provide children and families with as much flexibility and normalcy as possible.
00:00:34.360 It's important to note that this is just one component of our Affordability Action Plan.
00:00:37.780 We are providing $500 per household, up to $500 per household in electricity rebates.
00:00:43.060 We're providing fuel tax relief, which, just as an example, for a family driving a minivan, that could be $400 over about 12 months.
00:00:51.820 We're also providing natural gas rebates and electricity price protection.
00:00:58.420 We've lowered income tax.
00:01:00.280 Essentially, this is one component to our Affordability Action Plan, a very large component for families,
00:01:05.080 but there's a lot more also going out to support families.
00:01:07.440 Just jumping for one more follow-up, you talked about the electricity rebates.
00:01:12.920 How does this help people who are renting, who, like, they won't see it reflected in a rent if their landlord pays their utility bill
00:01:21.320 and then the landlord gets this money for the electricity rebate?
00:01:25.380 It essentially leaves tenants in the dark because they're not getting anything from this.
00:01:29.440 Landlords and tenants have a variety of different arrangements for utilities.
00:01:33.020 For some, it's a pass-through, in which case tenants would benefit from the electricity rebate.
00:01:38.360 In some cases, they're paying a fixed rate, in which case they may not be experiencing the challenges of increasing in record electricity rates.
00:01:47.600 We made sure that our electricity rebates were as broad as possible.
00:01:50.960 They're going to 1.9 million homes, farms, and small businesses.
00:01:54.300 And again, that is just one component of our Affordability Action Plan.
00:01:58.060 They would also be eligible for fuel tax relief, natural gas price protection, and other affordability support.