Lt.- Gov. Salma Lakhani said that Alberta’s government will assist consumers who are struggling with increased natural gas prices, as announced in the throne speech on Tuesday.
“To protect consumers from higher utility costs, the government will introduce a natural gas consumer protection program similar to rebate programs used in the past,” said Lakhani while presenting the priorities of the United Conservative Party government for the upcoming legislative session.
Preparations for what might be Alberta’s last parliamentary session before a provincial election in 2023 are put out in this speech.
A return to economic prosperity is promised, and Premier Jason Kenney attributes this to the government’s fiscal prudence and the improvement in oil fortunes.
Prior to the speech, Kenney remarked at a press conference, “There’s a lot of speculation that we may be on track for a balanced budget and a surplus this week.” He also added, “If that happens it will be, yes, in part because of significant growth in non-renewable resource revenues, but it still would not be possible without the spending restraint we brought in.”
New legislation and investments are promised in the speech, but details and expenses have not been made public. Alberta’s 2022-23 budget will be unveiled by Finance Minister Travis Toews on Thursday afternoon.
Afterward, Rachel Notley, leader of the opposition NDP, remarked that the government’s plan was lacking in many crucial aspects.
“There should have been a specific commitment to creating jobs, instead we got more empty promises, vague continuations of programs and initiatives that have been failing over and over for the last three years,” Rachel Notley told reporters.
Original source material for this article taken from here
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