Alberta
Utility Deferral Program: Adding Insult to Injury
Open Letter to Alberta MLAs and the Alberta Utilities Commission
July 23, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Red Deer – Mountain View, AB
“There are people in need of help. Charity is one of the nobler human motivations. The act of reaching into one’s own pockets to help a fellow man in need is praiseworthy and laudable. Reaching into someone else’s pocket is despicable and worthy of condemnation.” – Dr. Walter E. Williams
Recent news indicating that Alberta ratepayers will be responsible for the outstanding debt owed to gas and electricity providers from 2020’s three-month utility deferral program is beyond frustrating.
There is no question that many Albertans needed to take advantage of this deferral program when the government arbitrarily and unilaterally shuttered their livelihoods in 2020. There is also no question that outstanding debt from this program should not be the responsibility of Albertan ratepayers, many of whom saw significant reductions in income over the past year and a half due to government mandates.
As per a CBC article, Geoff Scotton, a spokesperson with the Alberta Utilities Commission, states “Now we’re in a situation where providers, in good faith, who enabled those payment deferrals, need to be made whole. That’s really the goal here.”
When will Albertans who had their lives and livelihoods deferred for a year and half be made whole?
Instead of the proposed repayment plan, I suggest the following remedies for the outstanding debt:
- The expected debt of $16 million should be split among all sitting MLAs and any other government bureaucrats who advocated for lockdowns and be repaid personally.
- The utility companies, specifically CEOs and senior managers, reach into their own pockets, help their fellow man in need and personally repay the debt.
Families, private sector employees and small business owners have suffered greatly over the past year and a half. Adding further costs to their already limited budgets is not acceptable. Please do better.
Sincerely,
Jared Pilon
Libertarian Party Candidate for Red Deer – Mountain View, AB
https://www.jaredpilon.com/
From the YouTube channel of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
Members of the media join Premier Danielle Smith for a round table on January 21, 2025.
Yakk Stack By Sheldon Yakiwchuk
Prior to Trumps inauguration event and announcement was made that Trump would not be imposing the 25% tariffs…
Which means, Canada seriously dodged a bullet here.
And while the Liberals will most likely frame this as, their success in showing, Bad Orange Man, that they’re tough and ready to burn down what is left of our economy, throwing Alberta under the bus, first…through a nuclear option…
Premier Smith rode this challenge out like the true champion we knew that she would be.
It’s hard to say if this was a legality matter in the grander scheme…or if the 25% tariffs would have truly been as big of an impact on the US…
One thing is clear, however…
Smith was ready to go to the tables with the Trump administration and opt for diplomacy over threats…which should be what we expect from our leaders.
And should these 25% tariffs have gone through…I’m more than sure a Plan B would have been brought out in civil conversations, over screeching rhetoric.
“She’s treasonous”, they screeched.
“She’s supporting her friends in Oil and Gas”, they relent.
“She should put Canada first”, they echo…
And let’s just address these…
Is Walmart beholden to Campbells soup? Fruit of the Loom? Kraft?
Or does Walmart sell products that helps keep their doors open?
Walmart is not beholden to any product…just like Premier Smith isn’t. We have 26% of our GDP – the largest portion – owed to Alberta O&G, something that we have a limited trade partner with, due to the Liberal – Anti-Alberta/Anti-O&G/Anti-Pipeline attitude that wants to spend us further in debt with unreliable and expensive “Renewables”.
What does Alberta get from renewables?
A higher cost for energy, in an affordability crisis, created by the same people who continue to push them…sounds like a terrible deal, for Albertans, and something a true leader would Not Favor.
When Walmart sits down to hash out a deal with Heinz, are they committing treason because they haven’t shown their allegiance to their own, ‘Great Value’ brand Ketchup?
No…other provinces have their own industries and resources, which they are free to continue developing independent of the federal government, as is suitable and supportive of their own economies…Alberta isn’t competing with them, nor Canada as a whole.
Alberta through industry and resource, actually supports Canada through a grand imbalance on “Equalization Payments”…
As do we through paying 50% more into the Canada Pension Plan, than we actually get out of the Canada Pension Plan…to the tune of a $334 Billion Dollars.
And as for this “Team Canada”, horseshit…
The title Premier of Alberta, should hold some clues as to who Premier Smith should be advocating for…as she is the Premier of Alberta and Not the Prime Minister, nor leader in the Liberal Party that has created this fiasco, to begin with.
Rail, as they may…other provinces can’t cast a vote in her support, either way…
None of the other provinces, through Members of Parliament, nor through Premiers, came to support Alberta and our economy through a number of Federal Bills that railed on our provincial resources…
Worse yet…these hypocrites cash cheques from our province, while telling us how to diversify our economy…to which I’d state one thing unequivocally…
If we wanted to be a Have Not Province…like you are…we’ll come and ask you for your advice.
Until then…
I’ll hold my Alberta Flag Higher than my Canadian…
And be proud today, of having the only Premier in the country of Canada, worthy of any praise today!
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