Premier Rachel Notley.Ed Kaiser / Postmedia
Trying to track the real costs of election promises is a fool’s game.
For every spending promise made in this provincial election, there’s some hypothetical, unprovable financial justification.
Take Rachel Notley’s daycare promise: In return for the government’s social investment of $1.5 billion over five years in daycare subsidies, the daycare program will “add $6 billion to Alberta’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).”
Where the $6 billion figure comes from is anybody’s guess. Theoretically, a daycare worker with a bigger pay cheque tips his/her server an extra buck, who in turn buys a chocolate bar from a 7-Eleven clerk, who in turn gets a raise for selling more chocolate bars …
Then there’s reality.
When Notley and her party ran in 2015, they promised to balance the annual provincial government budget within five years.
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Five years later, Fina ...
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Villa Bistro's lamb "popsicles' are heavily seasoned and well-cooked but still tender and juicy. Photos by GRAHAM HICKS / EDMONTON SUN
Villa Bistro
10014 104 St.
780-497-7784
villabistro.ca
Delivery: doordash.com
Reservations: opentable.ca
Mon. to Sat. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (9 p.m. Mon. + Tues.)
Closed Sundays
Dinner for two excluding tip, taxes or beverages: Basic, $35; loaded $70
Food: 4 of 5 Suns
Ambience: 2.5 of 5 Suns
Service: 3.5 of 5 Suns
By Graham Hicks
A survey, released this week by the Restaurants Canada Association, claims one-third of Alberta’s restaurateurs have considered closing because of falling revenues combined with rising costs – specifically the provincial minimum wage hike from $10 to $15.
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The word “considered” tempers my reaction. Most of us have “considered” drastic options at one time or another. Rarely have we acted on the same.
But there’s no denying these are tough days fo ...
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