Skip to content

“As for the rest of us, even though we’re in, it still feels like we’re on the outside looking in.”

Seeing as how it’s been so warm and sunny the past little while, I’ve decided to slither out from under my rock and enjoy some of this wonderful spring-like weather. Besides, I’m still on the hunt for something that has become very elusive even though I’ve looked everywhere for it.

Seeing as how it’s been so warm and sunny the past little while, I’ve decided to slither out from under my rock and enjoy some of this wonderful spring-like weather. Besides, I’m still on the hunt for something that has become very elusive even though I’ve looked everywhere for it.

I heard about it a lot back in the old country and even more about it when I got here, and while my view may be a bit tinted with green-coloured glasses, I can’t see it anywhere.

I’ve been to Red Deer and Calgary a bunch of times since I arrived here last summer, but I couldn’t find any sign of it in either of those places. And just recently I was up in Edmonton and I might not have looked hard enough, but I couldn’t find it there either.

It’s certainly not in Breton, Bluffton, Bentley or Rimbey.

In fact, I haven’t seen it anywhere I’ve looked no matter how big or small the community is. But one thing’s for sure, it certainly isn’t under my rock.

So seeing as how I can’t find it on my own, perhaps you folks can help me out a little and tell me exactly where it is that I’m supposed to find this so-called Alberta Advantage that I’ve been hearing so much about.

But before you go running to the typewriter or keyboard to let me know where it is, let’s look at a few places where it definitely isn’t.

For a newcomer to this province such as myself, it didn’t take very long to discouver that there’s no Alberta Advantage in basically any industry that has anything to do with privatization, unless of course, you’re at the top of the food chain.

Much to my shock, I found out early – the second official day of residence here, that there was a $400 per year difference in the cost of registering my vehicle between two prominent private insurers in the area.

In provinces where the government manages vehicle insurance – and thus the profit motivation is much less, everyone pays the exact same amount whether they live in the biggest cities or the smallest towns and if it happens to be a particularly bad driver, it is them who pay when they renew their driver’s license, instead of the system that basically affects all of us.

Another area where you certainly won’t find any Alberta Advantage is in the privatized delivery of utilities.

According the Statistics Canada, Alberta has the second highest average household utility costs in the entire country behind only the Northwest Territories. At an average cost of $3,569 per year, Albertans pay more than residents of both Nunavut and the Yukon Territory.

It only stands to reason that the Northwest Territories would pay the most due, for the most part, to their extremely cold winters, but what explanation is there for the fact that this province, as rich and powerful as it claims to be, is the second highest – except, of course, to point the finger at privatization?

And what other explanation is there? Privatization by its very nature, means someone or some entity must profit and that’s all there is to it. And therefore, the customer must make up that profit. If there is any Alberta Advantage to privatization, it goes to those providing vehicle insurance and utilities, not the public.

Speaking of profiting on the backs of others, where does the Alberta Advantage come into play when it comes to minimum wage?

By May 1 of this year, Alberta, at $8 per hour, will have the third lowest minimum wage of all the provinces with the exception of New Brunswick at $7.75, Nova Scotia at $7.60 and Prince Edward Island at $7.50.

In fact, by this April, Newfoundland will have the same minimum wage as Alberta.

So while this province has the highest utility costs of any of the provinces and housing costs that are arguably among the highest in Canada (more on that in a second), they mandate a minimum wage that frankly, is appalling.

Following a previous tirade about Alberta in an earlier editorial, an astute gentleman here in Rimbey suggested that the Alberta Advantage lies in the fact that there is no provincial sales tax (PST) here and I suppose he made a good point. If, of course, you’re affluent enough. But in my case at least, I wouldn’t know much about that.

I do know that no provincial sales tax is a big benefit to those purchasing new vehicles, fancy new appliances, big-screen televisions and luxury holidays abroad, but what about the rest of us?

As a low to middle wage earner – at least based on the average income of Albertans, I neither earn nor spend anywhere near enough to make a difference and the savings I get from no PST doesn’t amount to a hill of beans compared to the expense of living here.

And as for the cost of housing, that is a shock, even after seven months, which I still haven’t gotten over.

In my previous province of residence, the rent for a one-bedroom suite basically in any rural area ran somewhere between $300 and $450 per month. But not here.

Prior to making the big move west, I had my co-workers keep an eye on the classified ads to find an affordable place to live. It didn’t take very long until they found an apartment and said I was extremely lucky to have it. And I suppose I am, but at a 250 per cent increase, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

As a middle-aged, low to middle income wage earner, home ownership anywhere in Alberta is obviously out of the question for myself and even if it wasn’t, how could anyone justify paying from $150,000 to $200,000 for a house that, for the same thing, you could find in rural areas of every other province for one-tenth of the price.

So considering all of the above, there really is an Alberta Advantage out there, but only for a select few, and it certainly isn’t those on a fixed, low or even middle income level.

If you happen to be one of the few with the means to afford things like luxury automobiles, insurance offices and rental properties, it appears all the advantage are in your court.

As for the rest of us, even though we’re in, it still feels like we’re on the outside looking in and watching the few take full advantage of the Alberta Advantage.

Check next week’s edition for Part II when we’ll take a look at two much more important issues: health care and the environment, to see if there’s any Alberta Advantage in those areas.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of us already know the answers.