Editorial
AEG Congratulates Premier Danielle Smith
BY CATHERINE BROWNLEE, PRESIDENT OF ALBERTA ENTERPRISE GROUP (AEG), CALGARY AND EDMONTON CHAPTERS
The Alberta Enterprise Group (AEG) congratulates Premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party on their election victory. AEG looks forward to sharing the priorities of our members and cooperating with the Alberta government to help make Alberta a better place to live and do business. We are committed to working with Premier Smith and the UCP government on issues of concern and relevance for our members and fellow Albertans. These issues include reducing the tax burden, enhancing education and career training, continued red tape reduction and ongoing cooperation to ensure Alberta’s prosperity by defending and exercising Alberta’s constitutional rights.
We welcome the fuel tax holiday until the end of this year; it will not only lighten the financial burden for Alberta’s citizens, but it will also help businesses reduce their operating expenses. AEG looks forward with interest to the proposed expansion of the Taxpayer Protection Act to help protect Albertans from personal income and business tax hikes. We also welcome the proposed personal income tax cuts outlined in the UCP platform and the maintenance of Alberta’s competitively low corporate tax rate.
Our attractive tax rate, plus Alberta’s natural resources and excellent workforce, have resulted in global corporations announcing almost $15 billion worth of projects and proposals for Alberta’s petrochemical and clean-tech industries. Corporate taxation stability makes Alberta an attractive place for ongoing and future investment, and competitive with comparable jurisdictions for global corporations’ investments. A significant element of job growth and economic diversification is having a skilled workforce to fill the jobs being created. We welcome discussions and collaboration with
the Alberta government for future building and enhancing Alberta’s career training to prevent labour shortages, while improving economic and energy literacy. Since 2019, the Alberta government has made progress in reducing red tape for Alberta’s businesses.
AEG looks forward to continued efforts to streamline the regulatory burden faced by small, medium and large enterprises operating in Alberta. Lastly, we will continue to support and defend Alberta’s constitutional rights to provincial resource development, as we did with our intervenor statement to the Supreme Court of Canada on Ottawa’s Bill C-69. Respect for the constitutionally defined jurisdictional boundaries between the provinces and Ottawa strengthens Canada and enables freedom to develop and grow according to the needs and desires of each unique province. That is why we supported the Government of Alberta, and almost all of the other provinces and territories, in opposing this federal legislation.
AEG stands ready to cooperate with Alberta’s government to ensure Alberta’s long-term prosperity by advocating for a lower tax burden, strong education and career training, reduced red-tape and exercising our constitutional rights as a province.