Alberta Minute: Infrastructure Funding, Missing Millions, and a Resolved Trade Dispute

Alberta Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Alberta politics.

This Week In Alberta:

• Missing millions? The Government of Alberta is seeking the rightful owners of $154 million in unclaimed money and property. A registry includes lost, abandoned, or forgotten funds, such as cash, cheques, money orders, and more, often linked to unclaimed deposits or inactive accounts. In 2023, the registry successfully returned $1.4 million to 650 people. Nearly 350,000 items remain unclaimed, including one worth over $850,000. Albertans can check for unclaimed property online. If not claimed within 10 years, the funds go to the government’s general revenue fund.
  
  
• Alberta will deploy two new teams of sheriffs to support rural policing across the province. Based in Calgary and Edmonton, these teams of eight sheriffs will assist rural police and the RCMP upon request. Unlike other sheriffs who handle large-scale crimes, these teams will address smaller-scale criminal activities such as break-ins and fuel thefts. The initiative, costing $2.1 million annually, aims to mitigate the impact of the 400 RCMP vacancies in Alberta.
  
  
• The Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede Rodeo is coming up, and together with our friends at the Medicine Hat Utilities Ratepayer Association, Project Confederation, and Common Sense Medicine Hat, we're hosting a breakfast. On Saturday from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, we'll be at the Tori Plaza Parking Lot helping to serve a free breakfast. In addition to a Western Breakfast of pancakes, sausage and hash browns, there will be Thai specialties from the Thai Orchid Room. The breakfast is free, but we will be accepting food donations in support of the Root Cellar Food Bank. Please RSVP here so we know how many to prepare for. If you’re not in Medicine Hat, don’t worry, we’re coming to Lethbridge and Edmonton in August!

Last Week In Alberta:

• Premier Danielle Smith and her British Columbia counterpart David Eby have signed a deal to resolve a trade dispute involving BC wineries. The agreement ends a January ban on direct-to-consumer sales by Alberta, which was implemented due to tax issues on those sales. Under the new Memorandum of Understanding, BC wineries will now pay the required fees for selling their products in Alberta, even if they ship right to the end consumer. Direct-to-consumer shipments of wine can resume immediately, and the deal will be in effect for one year, after which it will be reviewed.
  
  
• A recent Angus Reid Institute survey showed that Canadians view Alberta as the province that contributes the most to Confederation while receiving the least in return. The poll revealed that 23% of respondents nationwide believe Alberta gives more than it gets, with this sentiment shared by nearly half of those in Alberta and Saskatchewan but only 11% of Quebecers. Our President, Peter McCaffrey, spoke about the survey with True North, noting that Alberta’s overcontributions aren’t just a perception, but a fact.
  
  
• The Government of Alberta has secured a $265-million infrastructure deal with Ottawa through the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF). This funding is intended to help address local infrastructure needs, including roads, water lines, and housing projects. The CCBF allows local governments to apply for grants for various projects, such as public transit, wastewater management, and recreation facilities. Past uses of the fund include a multi-use recreation facility in Coaldale and water system upgrades in Leduc.

-----

Donate:

The Alberta Institute doesn't accept any government funding and never will. We think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support. If you're in a position to contribute financially, you can make a donation here.

-----

Share:

If you're not in a position to donate, we understand, but if you appreciate our work, you can help by spreading our message. Please forward this email to your friends, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and help make sure every Albertan knows what's going on in our province.