Tell this government review, “Alberta seniors deserve better”
The Alberta government has launched a review of facility-based continuing care in the province. Its main mechanism for public input is a survey, conducted by accounting firm MNP. The survey itself is deeply flawed and reveals some disturbing directions the government is considering, including a significant privatization agenda across many areas of seniors’ care. The result, if these directions are embraced, will be much higher out-of-pocket costs for seniors and their families, and a system where quality care will depend even more on someone’s ability to pay, rather than their care needs.
We are encouraging Albertans to fill out the government survey and also to contact the Minister of Health’s office to express the concerns you have with the direction they’re considering. There are five main ways we see that the government could strengthen the continuing care system for all Albertans, and we hope these points can help guide the input you send to them:
- Get profits out of seniors’ care.
- Build a seniors’ care system that is easy to access and navigate.
- Legislate staff-to-patient ratios to ensure quality care. Working conditions for staff are care conditions for patients.
- Develop a system that cares for everyone, based on need, and not ability to pay. We need fewer out-of-pocket costs, not more.
- Legislate a Seniors’ Advocate position that is arms length from the government and whose focus is on reporting to the public on the state of the seniors’ care system.
For further guidance related to the needs of seniors in Alberta, see our Priorities for Alberta Seniors document and our Alberta Seniors Deserve Better campaign website
Stop Post-Secondary Education Cuts!
Post-secondary education is a cornerstone of Alberta.
While our Universities, Colleges and Technical Institutes have suffered under these extraordinary circumstances, faculty, staff, and students have risen to the challenge of managing the pandemic. There is no doubt about the crucial contributions post-secondary institutions make for Albertans every day.
But Alberta's post-secondary system is under unprecedented threat. Even in the pre-pandemic period, the provincial government set its sights on attacking the sector across the province. It has cut millions from the sector’s operating budget over the last two years. This has meant thousands of layoffs, more pressure with fewer staff, and a lower quality of education for students at a time when their tuition is increasing rapidly each year. Students are struggling with skyrocketing tuition costs.
Now with the pandemic, our entire system is stretched thin. Professors and instructors are working under extreme pressure in offering support to students while shifting under emergency conditions to online delivery. And this is happening in the context of support staff losing their jobs.
It has never been more clear that the working conditions of faculty and staff are the learning conditions of students.
We need to work together like never before to push for our world-class post-secondary education system to be funded like the essential public service it is. Not only for our economy today, but for the economy of the future.
Take Action →
Even One Kid in Poverty is One Too Many
Authorized by Public Interest Alberta (780 420 0471)
If even one kid living in poverty is too many, what is 164,000 children?
In Alberta, 1 in 6 children live below the poverty line. This is unconscionable in such a wealthy country and province -- ending child poverty is a moral obligation for all of us.
The research shows us without a doubt that allowing any child to live in poverty has ripple effects. When children grow up in poverty, it affects their mental health, educational attainment, employment, and housing throughout their lives, and they are more likely to remain in low-income status as adults.
Investing in ending child poverty now means better outcomes for everyone. Childhood poverty leads to less healthy adults with more serious health and social problems. This means greater stress on our health care and social support systems. Investing in prevention now means we avoid those downstream costs and we build healthier communities. These impacts benefit all of us, regardless of our economic status.
One key intervention in child poverty is affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care and early learning. Child care is one of the biggest household expenses, up to two-thirds of a low-income family’s monthly income. Access to high-quality, universally-accessible, and affordable child care is a proven method for lowering child poverty and is an especially profound intervention for single mothers, who are among the most affected by poverty. Studies show that children in places with universal access to child care have better physical health, developmental, and psychological conditions by age six.
We can’t leave children trapped in life-long cycles of poverty. We must act now, especially during the pandemic when even more people are struggling. We have a moral obligation to end child poverty in our province, and the result would be a more healthy and compassionate society for all of us.
Will you join the fight to end child poverty?
Add signatureInvest in Families: Ending Child Poverty is Good for All
In Alberta, 1 in 6 children live below the poverty line. This is unconscionable in such a wealthy country and province -- child poverty is a moral obligation for all of us to end.
We teamed up with the Edmonton Social Planning Council and the Alberta College of Social Workers to produce a report called "Invest in Families: Ending Child Poverty is Good for All" which focuses on the impacts of poverty on the development of children, and its wide-ranging detrimental effects, including issues affecting mental health, educational attainment, employment, and housing throughout their lives up to adulthood. The report demonstrates that investment into Alberta’s families, including child benefits, nutrition programs, affordable housing, and subsidized, quality child care, are the key to ending the cycles of poverty that end up blocking children from living lives of dignity where they’re able to thrive.
Media Release
In the News
Watch: Poverty report condemns provincial funding cuts, Shaughn Butts, Edmonton Journal
CBC Edmonton News, January 14, 2010, 8-minute mark
Cuts to Alberta's social programs harming poor families, children: report, Lauren Boothby, Edmonton Journal
Friday round table: Child poverty, The Ryan Jesperson Show
Opinion: Ending child poverty in Alberta is our moral obligation, Joel French (Public Interest Alberta), Sandra Ngo (Edmonton Social Planning Council), Ajay Hartenfeld Pandhi (Alberta College of Social Workers), Edmonton Journal
Photos from our press conference on January 14, 2020. Joel French, our Executive Director, was joined by Sandra Ngo, Research Coordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council, and Ajay Hartenfeld Pandhi, President of the Alberta College of Social Workers, to speak on the report.
Low Wage Data 2019
2019 Alberta Low Wage Data
Public Interest Alberta obtained the following information from Statistics Canada’s monthly Labour Force Survey. It indicates the average number of employed Albertans in each category for the year ending June 30, 2019.
The total number of employed Albertans in this period was 1,960,400. The Alberta government usually increases the minimum wage each year on October 1, but this year it is being frozen at $15 per hour, except for youth, who can now be paid $2 per hour less.
Nearly a quarter million minimum wage workers in Alberta can legally have their wages frozen this year, missing a key opportunity to boost the economy by putting more money in the pockets of the province’s lowest wage workers.
- 245,300 employed Albertans earn the current minimum wage of $15 per hour or less (12.5%).
- 277,500 earn less than $16 per hour (14.2%).
The majority of the lowest wage workers are women.
- 151,000 workers earning the minimum wage of $15 per hour or less are women (61.6%).
- 173,400 workers earning less than $16.00 per hour are women (70.7%).
More than three-quarters of workers earning minimum wage are 20 years of age or older.
- 185,200 are 20 years of age or older (75.5%).
- 121,900 are between 20 and 44 years old (49.7%).
- 53,200 are between 45 and 64 years old (21.7%).
- 10,100 are 65 years of age or older (4.1%).
Download our printable fact sheet.
Regional Fact Sheets
- Athabasca - Grande Prairie - Peace River
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Lethbridge
- Medicine Hat
- Red Deer
- Wood Buffalo - Cold Lake
Media Release
Info Graphics
Public Interest Alberta in the News
Minimum wage freeze to affect Albertans 'already struggling': report by Diego Romero, CTV News Edmonton
Interview with Joel French on The Danielle Smith Show
Medicine Hat continues to have most low-wage earners in Alberta, Medicine Hat News
Interview with Joel French on the Alberta Advantage Podcast
Interview with Joel French on Rank and File Radio - Prairie Edition
Previous Low Wage Data
Low Wage Report 2018
2018 Alberta Low Wage Report
Public Interest Alberta obtained the following information from Statistics Canada’s monthly Labour Force Survey. It indicates the average number of employed Albertans in each category for the year ending June 30, 2018. The total number of employed Albertans in this period was 1,913,200. The minimum wage will increase from $13.60 per hour to $15.00 per hour on October 1, 2018.
More than 300,000 Alberta workers will receive a raise on October 1st because of the minimum wage increase.
- 302,300 employed Albertans earn less than the incoming minimum wage of $15 per hour (15.8%).
- 359,100 earn less than $16 per hour (18.8%).
- 159,500 earn the current minimum wage of $13.60 per hour (8.3%).
More than 60 percent of workers receiving a minimum wage raise are women.
- 189,400 workers earning less than the incoming minimum wage of $15 per hour are women (62.7%).
- 100,100 workers earning the current minimum wage of $13.60 per hour are women (62.8%).
- 223,200 workers earning less than $16.00 per hour are women (62.2%).
More than three-quarters of workers receiving a minimum wage raise are 20 years of age or older.
- 233,300 are 20 years of age or older (77.2%).
o 163,300 are between 20 and 44 years old (54.0%).
o 59,300 are between 45 and 64 years old (19.6%).
o 10,700 are 65 years of age or older (3.5%).
Download our printable fact sheet
Read our media release showing what the data means for Albertans working in the province.
Regional Fact Sheets
- Athabasca - Grande Prairie - Peace River
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Lethbridge
- Medicine Hat
- Red Deer
- Wood Buffalo - Cold Lake
Public Interest Alberta in the news
Minimum wage debate Segment on Alberta Primetime (CTV Two)
300,000 Albertans to benefit from minimum wage boost Interview on The Ryan Jespersen Show (630 CHED)
Minimum wage increase to benefit Red Deer workers by Susan Zielinski, Red Deer Advocate
300,000 Albertans will be getting a raise next month by Daily Hive Calgary
One in six working Albertans can expect a raise when minimum wage goes up Oct. 1, advocacy group estimates by Hamdi Issawi, Star Metro Edmonton
Thousands of Red Deerians to receive minimum wage increase by Troy Gillard, rdnewsNOW
Pending minimum wage hike will boost local economy: PIA by Tim Kalinowski, Lethbridge Herald
Chamber joins poverty-reduction group in opposition to minimum wage increase by Collin Gallant, Medicine Hat News (Low Wage Report mentioned)
Group takes issue with minimum wage approach by Collin Gallant, Medicine Hat News
Better wages won't fix poverty: Thrive by Collin Gallant, Medicine Hat News (Low Wage Report mentioned)
Minimum Wage Increases in Alberta by Ania Werbeniuk, Lexology
Who's driving the Thrive bus? Letter to the Editor, Medicine Hat News
Minimum wage increase will have major pain by Dayla Lahring, St. Albert Gazette (Low Wage Report mentioned)
25% of workforce gets raise by Collin Gallant, Medicine Hat News
A guide to Alberta's new $15 minimum wage and what it will mean for the economy by Kieran Leavitt & Brennan Doherty, Star Metro Edmonton
Alberta's minimum-wage workers tell us what $15 an hour really means for their bottom line by Hamdi Issawi & Brennan Doherty, StarMetro Edmonton
What does the increase in minimum wage mean for you? Alberta at Noon (CBC Radio)
Goes too far or about darn time, Alberta minimum wage hike continues to divide by David Bell, CBC News
$15 minimum wage increase met with mixed reception from public by Evan J. Pretzer, The Stony Plain Reporter
Minimum wage increase draws mixed reviews by Eric Bowling, Westlock News
Previous Low Wage Reports
2017 Municipal Election
Welcome to Public Interest Alberta's progressive guide to Alberta’s municipal elections.
Learn about the issues, engaging your candidates, and informing yourself and your community before heading to the ballot box on October 16!
Together, we can make Alberta’s municipalities more fair, just, and progressive.
Download handout: A Progressive Guide to Alberta’s Municipal Elections
PRIORITIES AND QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES
For Municipal and School Board and Municipal Candidates
- Do you oppose contracting private corporations to operate public services (like water services or public transportation and transit at the municipal level and custodial, maintenance, and support services at the school board level)?
- How would you work to protect our environment and support a green economy?
- What would you do to take action on reconciliation with indigenous peoples based recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership?
For Municipal Candidates
- Do you support increasing taxes to, at a minimum, meet the costs of inflation for the municipality’s services?
- How would you increase the quality and affordability of public transit and/or regional transportation?
- Would you support policy to ensure all workers employed by the municipality and its contractors are paid a living wage?
- What other action would you take to eliminate poverty and homelessness?
- What would you do to address racism and gender inequality in the municipality?
- What role do you think our municipal government can play in building a comprehensive, affordable, high quality, universal child care system?
- Do you support a ban on corporate and union contributions?
- What changes would you make to improve citizen engagement, policy making and governance?
For School Board Candidates
- If elected, how will you work to stop any government cuts to education? Will you work to reduce class sizes?
- Do you believe students in any school who want a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) should be entitled to one?
- If a student joins a GSA, do you think their parent should be notified, even without the student’s permission?
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
What will the future look like if we don’t take action?
- privatization of critical public services
- corporate control of our water and other resources
- cuts to services for families and people in crisis
- increased user fees and downloading costs to families
- big money influence on our political process and disempowered citizens
Citizen Forums
Public Interest Alberta in collaboration with the Edmonton and District Labour Council and the Calgary District Labour Council held citizen forums in Calgary and Edmonton to focus on issues and how citizens can advance progressive values.
Edmonton - Monday, September 25, 2017
Panel 1: Poverty, Child Care, and Education
- John Kolkman, Edmonton Social Planning Council
- Heather Quinn, Edmonton Public Teachers
- Suzanne MacLean, Oliver Centre
Panel 2: Democracy and Privatization
- Larry Booi, Public Interest Alberta
- Mike Scott, CUPE Local 30
Panel 3: Environment and Racism
- Lorelei Hanson, Athabasca University
- Bashir Mohamed, Black Lives Matter Edmonton
Thank you to the following candidates/campaigns who attended our Municipal Election Forum in Edmonton on September 25th: Kris Andreychuk, Glen Argan, Neda Asadi, Jeff Behrens, Rob Bernshaw, Nafisa Bowen, Brandy Burdeniuk, Shelagh Dunn, Trisha Estabrooks, Sam Filice, Kirsten Goa, Ben Henderson, Mark Hope, Nathan Ip Michael Janz, Miranda Jimmy, Joseph Luri, Dawn Newton, Mike Nickel, Mike Russnak, Bridget Stirling, Keren Tang, Sara Wagner, Tamie Ward and Mimi Williams
Calgary - Sunday, October 1, 2017
Panel 1: Poverty, Child Care, and Education
- Franco Savoia, Vibrant Communities Calgary
- Nevena Ivanovic, Women’s Centre of Calgary
- Barbara Silva, Support Our Students Alberta
2: Public Services, Privatization, and Democracy
- Alex Shevalier, Calgary and District Labour Council
- Joel French, Public Interest Alberta
3: Racism and Reconciliation
- Chantal Chagnon, Cree8
- Iman Bukhari, Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation
Thank you to the following candidates/campaigns who attended our Municipal Election Forum in Calgary on Oct 1: Brent Alexander, Blair Berdusco, Christopher Blatch, Coral Bliss Taylor, Patricia Bolger, Gian-Carlo Carra, Gord Cummings, Rekha Dhawan, Karen Lynn Draper, Janet Eremenko, Srinivas Ganti, Faith Greaves, Richard Hehr, Salimah Kassam, Greg Miller, Sara Peden, Michelle Robinson, Jennifer Seamone, Merle Terlesky, Tory Tomblin, and Steve Turner
Keep Drainage Public
UPDATE:
After only one public hearing to discuss Epcor's proposal to acquire $3.1 billion dollars worth of publicly owned drainage assets, City council voted 7-6 on April 12 to transfer all drainage assets to Epcor. Thus, putting billions of dollars of public infrastructure under the control of a private company. While EPCOR is completely owned by the City of Edmonton, it operates as a private company and is not bound to the same standards of transparency and public accountability as a utility controlled by the City.
We urge you to remember this important decision city council made before breaking for an election in the fall.
Mayor Iveson was supported in voting for the transfer by Councillors Michael Oshry, Andrew Knack, Scott McKeen, Michael Walters, Bryan Anderson and Ed Gibbons.
Voting against were Loken, Moe Banga, Ben Henderson, Tony Caterina, Mike Nickel and Bev Esslinger.
Public Interest Alberta -- along with Progress Alberta, the Edmonton & District Labour Council and Coalition of Edmonton Civic Unions -- opposed the transfer and despite the deal being approved, there were some positive changes made to the final motion. For instance, while EPCOR is not subject to Freedom of Information Legislation (FOIP), City Council stipulated that the final agreement include a FOIP-like process which will provide a way to access information about this essential utility (including an appeal process to resolve disputes about what should and should not be accessible).
Another concern was related to the potential for EPCOR to sell the drainage asset behind closed doors, much like EPCOR's power-generation assets were spun off into Capital Power in 2009. While this concern still exists, some assurances are included to ensure that, in the event EPCOR proposes a sale, the City must hold a public hearing.
While we fell short of our ultimate goal (drainage remaining within the City of Edmonton's organization), some important details to help address the concerns around transparency and accountability were added to the final motion, thanks in part to the lobby efforts of the concerned groups listed above and the engagement of many Edmonton citizens.
OUR CAMPAIGN
Edmonton City Council is considering selling $3.1 billion worth of drainage assets to EPCOR for just $1.00. We are urging City Council to keep drainage public. Why? Read Progress Alberta's Five big reasons to keep Edmonton's drainage public.
A recent poll released by the Edmonton and District Labour Council shows that Edmontonians are generally opposed to the privatization of essential city infrastructure and showed a lack of community awareness and consultation around the sale. Recent independent analysis of the sale shows that the public interest is not served by selling public City assets to EPCOR. View the full report online.
Read our media release. Listen to Public Interest Alberta Executive Director, Joel French, discuss drainage issues on the Ryan Jespersen Show, January 25, 2017.
Get Involved
Contact your city councillor and let them know that you want to keep Edmonton's drainage assets public.
The sale must be stopped to ensure the best interests of Edmontonians are protected. If EPCOR takes control of Edmonton’s drainage assets:
- Edmontonians will lose transparency and accountability as decisions are moved from the City Council chambers to behind closed corporate doors.
- The focus of those running our drainage services will be more focused on cutting costs and making profits than on providing a high quality service.
- There is a future risk that EPCOR could sell Edmonton’s drainage assets to a fully-private corporation.
Need to find your city councillor? Use the City of Edmonton's Ward Boundary and Neighbourhood Map.
Public Interest Alberta in the news
EPCOR and the drainage system Ryan Jespersen Show
For more information
Stakeholders voice concern over EPCOR's proposed takeover of Edmonton drainage utility by Jennifer Ivanov, Global News
EPCOR drainage proposal doesn't hold water, report says by Nola Keeler, CBC Edmonton
Epcor takeover of Edmonton drainage would include transparency clause, city report says by Gordon Kent, Edmonton Journal
Rejecting Epcor's drainage bid: Privatizing a public resource doesn't benefit the city by Ricardo Acuna, Vue Weekly
Drainage debate: Edmonton city council divided over who should control drainage system by Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal
Public to have say on Epcor taking over drainage by Nola Keeler, CBC News
Five big reasons to keep Edmonton's drainage public by Duncan Kinney, Progress Alberta
City of Edmonton documents related to the proposal can be found here and here
Submission to Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission – January 2017
Public Interest Alberta Executive Director Joel French recently joined Public Interest Alberta's Democracy Task Force Chair Larry Booi and Democracy Task Force member Dr. Don Carmichael to present to the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission at their public hearing in Edmonton. You can read our press release for more information on our presentation to the Commission. We encourage you to attend a hearing in your area.
Public Interest Alberta's Democracy Task Force has also put together a written submission to the Electoral Boundaries Commission. The Task Force is encouraging Public Interest Alberta members and the general public to make a submission online as well. The deadline for submissions is February 8, 2017.What you can do
We encourage you to make your own submission until February 8, 2017. Simply visit the submissions portion of the Commission's website, and fill out the form. Your submission doesn't have to be long or detailed; what is most important is that you participate. We invite you to read over our submission to get a sense of what we are calling for. In short, our two main points are that the Commission should:
1. Limit the variance in the constituency population size to 5%.
The current legislation allows variances of 25%, but that was meant to serve as an outside limit, in very different times.
Clearly, the goal should be to have constituencies of equal population size, but due to the desire to take into account some local circumstances (for example, existing community and municipal boundaries) some modest degree of latitude is necessary. The proposed five per cent variance would actually amount to ten per cent, since it would allow five per cent above and below the average.
In addition, the Commission should not make use of their power to create any of the four “special exceptions” constituencies of even wider variance as allowed under the legislation, since the particular circumstances of these areas can be better addressed through other means, such as by providing more assistance and support to MLAs.
2. Call on the Legislative Assembly to increase support to MLAs to assist them in effectively representing their constituents and addressing their varying needs.
While acting on a commitment to political equality and representation by population, the Electoral Boundaries Commission should point out that they are no longer using population variance to address the challenges of representation. In doing so, the Commission should call on appropriate bodies to ensure that all MLAs have the necessary staff and technical support to address those their representational challenges.
Such additional support is not only justifiable, but long overdue. It will mean that the Legislative Assembly must revise and enhance the formula for providing support, with the goal of allowing all MLAs to more effectively represent their constituents and their unique circumstances in rural, urban, and suburban constituencies throughout the province.
The increased costs are an investment in strengthening democracy in our province and a necessary complement to the move to more political equality and representation by population.
Public Interest Alberta in the news
Opinion: Unfair riding sizes are relics from a bygone era by Larry Booi
Voter equality vital for electoral boundary review commission says interest group by Tyler Marr, Lloydminster Meridian Booster
Electoral boundaries hearing in Red Deer on Friday delayed one hour by Mary-Ann Barr, Red Deer Advocate
For more information
All votes for MLA deserve an equal weight by Michael Janz, Chair of the Edmonton Public School Board
Time for ridings to better reflect Alberta by the Edmonton Journal Editorial Board
Suburban voters must get the political power they deserve by David Staples, Edmonton Journal
2016 Child Care Survey
On Friday, December 2, 2016, Public Interest Alberta, in partnership with the Terra Centre for Teen Parents and Early Childhood Development Support Services, released the results of a province-wide survey of child care operators. The responses highlight concerns related to accessibility, affordability, and quality of early learning and child care in Alberta.
