News Release

‘A BETTER FUTURE STARTS RIGHT NOW’RACHEL NOTLEY UNVEILS AMBITIOUS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA & PRIORITY ACTIONS

CALGARY – Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley released her legislative priorities and other actions to save Albertans money, create good-paying jobs, protect pensions and deliver better healthcare education. 
Should the Alberta NDP form government, Bill 1 will be the Save Albertans’ Money Act and include measures to lower the cost of utility bills, auto insurance, children’s activities, tuition and to implement $10-per-day childcare and extend the program to before- and after-school care.
This legislation will save the vast majority of Albertans nearly $1,000 and many families will save considerably more.
Bill 2, the Investment Certainty Act, will repeal Danielle Smith’s job-killing Sovereignty Act, reinstate and introduce new tax credits and eliminate taxes for more than 100,000 Alberta small businesses. 
Bill 3, the Pension Protection Act, would protect the retirement savings and pensions of Albertans by preventing any future government from leaving the Canada Pension Plan.
“My friends, a better future starts right now,” Notley said Thursday. “We will move as quickly as possible to lower your cost of living, create good-paying jobs and protect your retirement security.”
Notley also said she would take immediate action to deliver better healthcare by launching work to establish Family Health Team Clinics that will ensure more Albertans that need a doctor, get a doctor. 
As well, a new incentive pay program will be launched to help recruit and hire health care professionals such as nurses, mental health providers, pharmacists, and more, to help care for patients and reduce paperwork. Incentives will also be offered for clinics willing to stay open later in the evenings and on weekends.
Notley also pledged to amend the public prescription drug plan to include provide free contraception, a move that will save women $10,000 annually, and to provide the shingles vaccine free of charge.
Notley also said she would take immediate action to deliver better education by hiring more K-12 teachers, educational assistants and support staff before school begins again in September.
“At a time when there are a lot of things to vote against — including corruption, mismanagement and mistrust — I want Albertans to know that there are things in this province to vote for,” Notley said. 
“You can vote to restore trust. You can vote to invest in your kids’ education. You can vote to lower your monthly costs. You can vote to protect and improve health care, and protect your pension.
“It’s time for trusted leadership — and for a government focused on what matters to you.”
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FURTHER DETAILS
Rachel Notley’s Legislative Priorities
Bill 1 – Save Albertans’ Money ActAction on utilities:We’ll cap your home electricity rates at 12 cents per kWh for the regulated rate option to reduce costs over the summer. The cap applies to all household-use up to the Alberta residential average;We will also pay off $180 million in power-price debt imposed on Albertans by Danielle Smith;We will launch an investigation into prices to improve competitiveness, reliability, and affordability for Alberta’s electricity market in the long-term.Introduce the Kids Activity Tax Credit — $500 per year, per child to pay for children’s activities;Move to implement $10-a-day childcare faster and extend it to include before- and after-school care;Freeze tuition and reverse the latest round of UCP tuition hikes;Freeze auto insurance rates;Reindex AISH, the Alberta Seniors Benefit, and Income Supports to account for the UCP cuts, and then increase benefits annually with inflation. 
Bill 1SavingsBreakdownUtility Relief for RRO customers$450/householdThree-month rate cap + debt repaymentAuto insurance freeze$440/vehicleAssumes 10% annual rate increase without rate freeze, on a $4,480/year policy for a 30-year-old male driving an F350 Kids Activity Tax Credit$500/child$500 per child per yearTuition freeze$550/student Freeze post-secondary tuition at 2022-23 levels, canceling the latest round of tuition hikes proposed by Danielle SmithReindex AISH, the Alberta Seniors Benefit, and Income Supports$1,600/AISH recipient$270/Seniors Couple$750/Income Support recipientTotal cost of re-index over the course of a full fiscal year is $230 million$10/day Before and After School Care $3,600 per child per yearSaving $18/day based on May 2023 average cost$10/day Childcare$1,200 per child per yearSaving $5/day by accelerating affordable childcare
–Bill 2 – Alberta Investment Certainty ActRepeal Danielle Smith’s job-killing Sovereignty Act;Eliminate the small business tax rate, setting it to zero for more than 100,000 small businesses, including retail establishments, restaurants, mechanic shops, family farms, and more;Reinstate the Alberta Investor Tax Credit and introduce the Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit to diversify the economy and attract new growth;Launch work to establish the Alberta’s Future Tax Credit, Agriculture Value-Add Capital Investment Tax Credit, and the Alberta Petrochemical Incentive Program expansion.–Bill 3 – Canada Pension Protection ActProtect the savings and pensions of Albertans by preventing any future government from gambling with those funds or leaving the Canada Pension Plan.  Begin immediate consultations to restore joint governance of public sector pension plans. 
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Other Priority Actions
Better Access to Doctors and Better Medical CoverageLaunch work on 10 Family Health Team Clinics, and immediately establish locations in parts of the province where need is critical;Immediately establish an incentive for interested family physicians and clinics to open on evenings and weekends;Allocate in-year funds for family physicians and clinics to recruit and hire health care professionals such as nurses, mental health providers, pharmacists, and more, to help care for patients and reduce paperwork.Amend the public prescription drug plan to include coverage for prescription contraception (saving people up to $10,000 over their lifetimes) and also Shingrix for eligible seniors ($300 in one-time savings per person).
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Better Back-to-SchoolImmediately reallocate in-year funds to hire additional teachers, educational assistants and support staff.Increase program unit funding (PUF), which provides integrated early learning support for children with support needs, by $100 million per year to support more students than ever before.Launch broad consultation on the Alberta curriculum.
Our fully costed plan is in surplus. We are presenting a balanced budget and currently projecting a surplus of over $3 billion over the three-year fiscal track.