ONCE AGAIN THE UCP PUTS PROFITABLE CORPORATIONS AHEAD OF ALBERTANS

CALGARY - The Alberta NDP is calling on the UCP to stop their plan to hike property taxes on rural Albertans just so they can give profitable corporations a bigger handout.

One day after revealing that the UCP was pushing a plan that would skyrocket property taxes for rural Albertans, NDP Municipal Affairs Critic Joe Ceci revealed the push to adjust linear assessment was being driven by UCP insiders and lobbying from corporations that had already profited from the UCP’s $4.7 billion corporate handout.   

“The UCP once again have shown that when push comes to shove they are more interested in working for their insiders and profitable corporations than the people of Alberta,” said Ceci. “Jason Kenney and the UCP need to immediately stop and reverse their plan to make rural Albertans pay more just so already profitable corporations can get a tax break.”    

Nick Koolsbergen, who served as Campaign Director for the UCP 2019 campaign in addition to previously serving as Jason Kenney’s Chief of Staff, and Brad Tennant, who worked as Executive Director of the United Conservative Party until May, are registered to lobby the Government on changes to municipal taxation for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and Enbridge respectively. 

In addition a number of profitable corporations that had received millions and even billions from the UCP’s corporate handout have also registered to lobby the government to promote the kinds of tax changes that would result in massively hiked property taxes.

Some of the companies lobbying the government for these changes, and the profit they earned from the UCP’s $4.7-billion corporate handout, are as follows:

• Canadian Natural Resources Limited, which received $1,618,000,000.
• Imperial Oil, which received $662,000,000. 
• Encana/Ovintiv, which received $55,000,000 and then moved their headquarters from Calgary to Denver.  
• MEG Energy, which received $34,000,000
• TC Energy, which received $32,000,000.

“At a time when Albertans should be able to count on their provincial government to be there to support them during a pandemic,” continued Ceci. “All Albertans can see is Jason Kenney and the UCP bending over backwards to ensure that profitable corporations get another break while they get the bill. They need to immediately and publicly end this policy and start listening to the Albertans they’ve been ignoring.”