Alberta
CP Holiday Train family event in Blackfalds this Sunday!
CP Holiday Train set for stop in Blackfalds
The CP Holiday Train, which raises food and funds for local food banks across Canada, is back for its 20th year. This year, it will arrive in Blackfalds on Sunday December 9 at 12:45 pm for a free concert with Terri Clark, Sierra Noble and Kelly Prescott. The train will stop at Gregg St between Broadway and East Avenues and will perform just beside Tayles Water Spray Park. We encourage people to arrive early.
Who: Terri Clark, Sierra Noble and Kelly Prescott will perform
What: CP Holiday Train arrives in Blackfalds
Where: Gregg St between Broadway and East Avenues
When: Sunday, December 9, 2018 at 12:45 pm
Why: At each stop, CP hosts a free event with music, entertainment, lights etc. They simply ask attendees to donate money or food to their community food banks.
Gregg St from Broadway Ave to East Ave will be closed from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The Railway crossing on Broadway Ave will be closed from approx. 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm.
The CP Holiday Train encourages donations of non-perishable food items & cash for the Blackfalds Food Bank. Donations to the Blackfalds Food Bank will be accepted at the drop-off locations at Tayles Park.
Please plan to arrive early & walk if possible, as nearby parking will be limited.
Follow the Train on social media and post your experience Instagram @cpholidaytrain, #cpholidaytrain @blackfalds
For further details visit the Town website at blackfalds.com.
Terri Clark
?Hailing from Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, Terri Clark got her start by playing for tips at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, a legendary honky-tonk bar across the alley from Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. The 3-time JUNO Award winner holds the honor of being the only Canadian female member of the legendary Grand Ole Opry. Terri has received 19 CCMA Awards and is the newest member of the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
“I had such a wonderful time on the US leg of the CP Holiday Train last year, and I’m so excited for this experience again, across my home country of Canada. Seeing the smiling faces, holiday spirit, and people giving back to their own communities is an amazing thing to be a part of and witness.”
Sierra Noble
?Winnipeg singer-songwriter Sierra Noble has been a part of the Canadian music scene since a very young age, beginning her touring career when she was only 14 years old as a solo Old-time fiddle player. Her evolution as an artist brought her to a journey of singing and songwriting debuted by a song called “Possibility” which went on to be featured on television shows such as “One Tree Hill” and “Switched at Birth”. She credits that song to be what opened the door to her opening for international legends Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney.
“I am beyond excited to be a part of the 20th anniversary CP Holiday Train! Come join us with your friends, family, and food bank donations while we warm our hearts together through song in the cold chill of winter!”
Kelly Prescott
?Celebrating a long lineage of a very musically inclined family, the third-generation singer grew up in an award-winning studio where she was able to hone her craft of song writing. Penning such fan favourites as ‘Carryin’ Coal’ and ‘Coming Home To You (ft. Buddy Miller)’, her new music expands on her talent and unique vocals to reveal tracks like ‘Who Gets The Church’ and ‘Leavin’ Her’, which was released worldwide June 8th.
“I’ve had the honour of being a part of the CP Holiday Train for many years, yet this never gets old. In fact, it becomes more magical every year. To see firsthand the difference this program makes in each community is nothing short of incredible.”
Alberta
Federal taxes increasing for Albertans in 2025: Report
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
By Kris Sims
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its annual New Year’s Tax Changes report today to highlight major tax changes in 2025.
The key provincial tax change expected for Alberta is a reduction in the income tax rate.
“The Alberta government promised to reduce our lowest income tax bracket from 10 down to eight per cent and we expect the government to keep that promise in the new year,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “The United Conservatives said this provincial income tax cut would save families about $1,500 each and Alberta families need that kind of tax relief right now.
“Premier Danielle Smith promised to cut taxes and Albertans expect her to deliver.”
Albertans will see several federal tax hikes coming from Ottawa in 2025.
Payroll taxes: The federal government is raising the mandatory Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance contributions in 2025. These payroll tax increases will cost a worker up to an additional $403 next year.
Federal payroll taxes (CPP and EI tax) will cost a worker making $81,200 or more $5,507 in 2025. Their employer will also be forced to pay $5,938.
Carbon tax: The federal carbon tax is increasing to about 21 cents per litre of gasoline, 25 cents per litre of diesel and 18 cents per cubic metre of natural gas on April 1. The carbon tax will cost the average household between $133 and $477 in 2025-26, even after the rebates, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Alcohol taxes: Federal alcohol taxes will increase by two per cent on April 1. This alcohol tax hike will cost taxpayers $40.9 million in 2025-26, according to Beer Canada.
Following Budget 2024, the federal government also increased capital gains taxes and imposed a digital services tax and an online streaming tax.
Temporary Sales Tax Holiday: The federal government announced a two month sales tax holiday on certain items like pre-made groceries, children’s clothing, drinks and snacks. The holiday will last until Feb. 15, 2025, and could save taxpayers $2.7 billion.
“In 2025, the Trudeau government will yet again take more money out of Canadians’ pockets with payroll tax hikes and will make life more expensive by raising carbon taxes and alcohol taxes,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should drop his plans to take more money out of Canadians’ pockets and deliver serious tax relief.”
You can find the CTF’s New Year’s Tax Changes report HERE.
Alberta
Fraser Institute: Time to fix health care in Alberta
From the Fraser Institute
By Bacchus Barua and Tegan Hill
Shortly after Danielle Smith was sworn in as premier, she warned Albertans that it would “be a bit bumpy for the next 90 days” on the road to health-care reform. Now, more than two years into her premiership, the province’s health-care system remains in shambles.
According to a new report, this year patients in Alberta faced a median wait of 38.4 weeks between seeing a general practitioner and receiving medically necessary treatment. That’s more than eight weeks longer than the Canadian average (30.0 weeks) and more than triple the 10.5 weeks Albertans waited in 1993 when the Fraser Institute first published nationwide estimates.
In fact, since Premier Smith took office in 2022, wait times have actually increased 15.3 per cent.
To be fair, Premier Smith has made good on her commitment to expand collaboration with the private sector for the delivery of some public surgeries, and focused spending in critical areas such as emergency services and increased staffing. She also divided Alberta Health Services, arguing it currently operates as a monopoly and monopolies don’t face the consequences when delivering poor service.
While the impact of these reforms remain largely unknown, one thing is clear: the province requires immediate and bold health-care reforms based on proven lessons from other countries (e.g. Australia and the Netherlands) and other provinces (e.g. Saskatchewan and Quebec).
These reforms include a rapid expansion of contracts with private clinics to deliver more publicly funded services. The premier should also consider a central referral system to connect patients to physicians with the shortest wait time in their area in public or private clinics (while patients retain the right to wait longer for the physician of their choice). This could be integrated into the province’s Connect Care system for electronic patient records.
Saskatchewan did just this in the early 2010s and moved from the longest wait times in Canada to the second shortest in just four years. (Since then, wait times have crept back up with little to no expansion in the contracts with private clinics, which was so successful in the past. This highlights a key lesson for Alberta—these reforms are only a first step.)
Premier Smith should also change the way hospitals are paid to encourage more care and a more patient-focused approach. Why?
Because Alberta still generally follows an outdated approach to hospital funding where hospitals receive a pre-set budget annually. As a result, patients are seen as “costs” that eat into the hospital budget, and hospitals are not financially incentivized to treat more patients or provide more rapid access to care (in fact, doing so drains the budget more rapidly). By contrast, more successful universal health-care countries around the world pay hospitals for the services they provide. In other words, by making treatment the source of hospital revenue, hospitals provide more care more rapidly to patients and improve the quality of services overall. Quebec is already moving in this direction, with other provinces also experimenting.
The promise of a “new day” for health care in Alberta is increasingly looking like a pipe dream, but there’s still time to meaningfully improve health care for Albertans. To finally provide relief for patients and their families, Premier Smith should increase private-sector collaboration, create a central referral system, and change the way hospitals are funded.
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