June was another busy and exciting month in Edmonton. Our government has been working many long days in our pursuit of getting this province back on track.
The most exciting day of the month was undoubtedly June 4th, when the Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax – Bill #1 – was granted royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor and signed into law. Albertans will now see lower gas prices, cheaper heating bills, and more affordable services for at least six months, since we will not be subject to paying Justin Trudeau’s federal carbon tax until the new year. I know that myself, and hopefully many around me, will be voting for a change in federal government before then, and if successful, the carbon tax in Alberta will be gone forever!
Repealing the carbon tax isn’t all we’ve been up to in Edmonton. This month we also passed our Job Creation Tax Cut, which will incentivize investment back to Alberta by decreasing our business tax rate by a third over the next four years, making it the lowest in Canada and most of North America. We also passed our Red Tape Reduction Act which will see Alberta’s red tape burden decreased by a third across all government departments. Legislation to allow municipalities to offer property tax incentives has been tabled as a means to allow municipalities to encourage their own investment opportunities. We have also passed supplementary and interim supply to get us through the months leading up to the Fall budget, and have announced a firm commitment to funding increased school enrolment all across the province. Ensuring this province becomes a competitive environment to live and do business in once again is a top priority for our government, and we are committed to legislating in a way that we are confident will reignite our economy and quality of life like never before.
In other news, our government made history this month for surviving the longest legislative session. Thanks to our opposition, we sat in the house for nearly 25 hours straight without intermission, only to pass the second reading of a bill. While it is exciting to say that we were a part of history, I must say that it is disappointing to see our opposition filibustering aimlessly on our election promises. There are no surprises to the legislation we are putting forward, and I believe it shows incredible disrespect to Albertans, and to our democracy, to filibuster the very issues which the largest number of Albertans in Alberta history just voted for with resounding support. Nonetheless, we will not be deterred by their tactics, and if that means we filibuster every day for the rest of summer, we will do just that. Albertans elected us to turn this province around, and we will work relentlessly to ensure that happens.
On the SR1 file, I continue to remain opposed to the project for a host of reasons. The Ministry of Transportation has finally released an 8000 page document containing their long awaited responses to the regulator’s 600+ questions, which could provide an interesting update in the process. In the meantime, the Springbank Community Association has begun a letter writing campaign. I encourage all of you who are opposed to and concerned about this project to email me a written letter with your thoughts to banff.kananaskis@assembly.ab.ca. I am working on a very active case file, and would like to bring forward your words to the Legislature.
I hope to see as many of you as possible over the next month, either at Bragg Creek Days, the Springbank Air Show, my Stampede BBQ, or at either of my constituency offices in Canmore or Bragg Creek once they are open! Enjoy the sunshine while you can, and rest assured that our government is fighting for you over in Edmonton.
By Miranda Rosin, MLA
