Alberta taxes focus of forum

By Nick Kuhl, Lethbridge HeraldA public forum at the University of Lethbridge tonight will explore what “Alberta could do with fair taxes.”Representatives from Public Interest Alberta and the Parkland Institute will co-host the session, which will focus on cuts to public services that hurt people in Lethbridge, in room Room PE275, inside the First Choice Savings Centre, at 7 p.m.The forum is the first of a six-city provincial speaking tour to get people around the province to advocate for progressive income taxes and fair corporate taxes so that Alberta can invest in important public services, said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of Public Interest Alberta.“It is time that we have a serious conversation about how to make our tax system fairer and able to support the quality public services that Albertans need and value,” he said.“For far too long the government has said what Alberta can’t do because they refuse to change the flat tax system that only benefits very wealthy Albertans. We launched this campaign because Albertans want to talk about what we could do in this wealthy province.”City councillor Jeff Carlson, who is the provincial chairperson of Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Alberta Association, and Sherry Hunt the Board President of The Children’s House Childcare Society and Chairperson of Public Interest Alberta’s provincial Childcare Task Force, will also be on hand to speak.Hunt will be releasing new data showing the decline in the number of childcare spaces in Alberta, while Carlson will be speaking about the serious implications for FCSS programs that are struggling because the Alberta government has not increased its support for the program since 2009.Read the article on the Lethbridge Herald website.