Hello Chestermere! It has been an amazing week visiting with so many of you during the constituency week. I was able to attend so many events around the riding and I was honoured to be able to meet up with school groups and organizations to chat about some of the changes coming from government, and to chat about the work that they are doing on the ground in our amazing riding.
We are changing the eligibility criteria for Drug Coverage for Seniors. Family members younger than 65 years of age will no longer be covered by Coverage for Seniors. Albertans 65 years of age and older will continue to be covered by the program. We have been exploring options regarding income testing for Coverage for Seniors. In the meantime, government-sponsored drug coverage for seniors will continue to be the same. As more details come we will keep you posted. The changes to the coverage for dependents will take effect later this fiscal year. All seniors and their spouse/partners and dependents over 65 will continue to have coverage under the new plan. The main reasons for the changes are that the plan cost $600 million last year and that cost is expected to grow by eight per cent this year. We need to ensure sustainability of the program. If your spouse/partner and/or dependent is under the age of 65, they will no longer be eligible for coverage under Coverage for Seniors after the change takes effect. If they require extended coverage, they may want to consider options such as the governmentsponsored Non-Group Coverage plan. We are amending the Health Insurance Premiums Regulation and the Blue Cross Agreement Regulation to enable the change.
You can reach the AHCIP Office by phoning 780-427-1432 (tollfree in Alberta by first dialing 310-0000).
Premier Kenney’s Fair Deal Panel will be holding meetings throughout Alberta to explore options for Alberta to ensure our interests are protected within Canada.
The Fair Deal Panel will consist of the following members:
- Honourable Preston Manning PC CC AOE
- Stephen Lougheed
- Oryssia Lennie CM
- Jason Goodstriker
- Donna Kennedy-Glans QC
- Moin Yahya PhD JD
- Drew Barnes MLA
- Miranda Rosin MLA
- Tany Yao MLA
The panel will consult with experts, hold open town hall meetings across the province and undertake research to inform their recommendations.
All Albertans will be given an opportunity to provide input through online surveys, and other forms of direct feedback, both digital and traditional.
The panel will seek to conduct its public consultations between November 16 and January 30, 2020, and complete its report to the government by March 31, 2020.
You may have heard the dismissive statements by the Leader of the Bloq Quebecois that he has no interest in helping us get our resources to tidewater even while happily accepting the billions of dollars that Alberta contributes to Canada. As Premier Kenney said: “Pick a lane.” Options that will be considered include setting up our own Alberta Pension Plan. Experts agree that should we do so we could offer the same benefits with lower premiums or perhaps offer improved benefits if premiums remained the same. This is well within our authority and Quebec has operated its own Pension Plan for the last 60 years. Another option is more control over immigration, again something Quebec has. We want to hear from you and stay tuned for a meeting near you or other options to make your voice heard.
The panel’s mandate can be found on Alberta.ca
Premier Jason Kenney: “Albertans aren’t asking for a special deal, just a fair one. Our United Conservative government will do anything in our power to get it for them.” Premier Kenney stressed that in dealing with the federal government and provincial allies, Alberta will clearly prioritize several issues with huge implications for jobs and the economy, including:
- Obtaining firm guarantees on construction and completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline, including clear willingness to ensure that the rule of law is respected and applied. All of Alberta’s leverage will be focused on this goal.
- Approval of flow through shares, or other tax instruments, to increase job-creating investment in environmental technology such as carbon capture utilization and storage that will accelerate the reduction of GHG emissions from Canada’s oil and gas sector.
- Funding for the creation of green jobs by accelerating reclamation of abandoned wells.
- Clear support for future liquified natural gas projects that will significantly reduce global GHG emissions by accelerating coal to gas conversion in the developing world.
- Repeal of Bill C-48, and repeal or at least significant mitigation of Bill C-69
- Establishing equivalency agreements for Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program, and methane regulations.
- Accelerated federal approval of outstanding job creating projects, like the Teck Resources Frontier Mine and conversion of coal fired generation to natural gas.
As always, we love to hear from you.
