Alberta Minute: Sales Taxes, Delayed Reviews, and New LRT Woes

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

This Week In Alberta:

• We hope you all had a good Christmas, whether you were able to be with family or not. New Year's Eve won't be the same as usual in many places, but there are still plenty of outdoor activities you can take part in over the next few days, particularly in Calgary and Edmonton.
  
  
• The Legislature is, of course, adjourned for the holiday break and is expected to return sometime in February though we won't have an exact date until closer to the time. Committee meetings have also now concluded for the year, with the next meeting planned to be a meeting of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship on January 13th.
  
  
• While 2020 has been a very difficult year, we are looking forward with renewed excitement to what promises to be a very big 2021 - particularly in the fall when Alberta will hold municipal elections, senate elections, and a series of referenda on Alberta's role in Confederation. If you'd like to help us with our work on these issues and more next year, you can make a contribution to our end-of-year fundraising appeal here.

Last Week In Alberta:

• In what is perhaps the least "newsy" news this year, media continue to call for a sales tax to fix Alberta's deficit. Alberta's finance minister continues to say that he's not considering a sales tax at the moment, but is open to one in the future as the province looks to eventually balance the budget (but not during this term as originally planned).
  
  
• A review of the province's response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic will now not be released until next year, which seems a bit pointless given it was designed to help prepare for the second wave, which already appears to be waning.
  
  
• Finally, our friends at Common Sense Calgary have had a huge win, with Alberta's Minister of Transportation, Ric McIver, putting the brakes on the Green Line LRT in Calgary. Common Sense Calgary has been highlighting the very large number of problems with this project for many years, and if you're in Calgary and agree that Calgarians should get the final say on the Green Line you can sign their petition for a referendum here.

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