Phillips says Bank of Canada rate hike will impact Alberta families
By Trevor Busch - Lethbridge Herald on April 14, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtbusch@lethbridgeherald.com With the Bank of Canada hiking its benchmark interest rate to one per cent on Wednesday to help stifle high inflation, Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips was wary of what this could mean for struggling families in the province.“The cost of everything is going up and today’s rate hike could make life more expensive,” said Phillips in a statement. “Mortgages, car loans, and student debt will all become more expensive.”
Phillips, who also serves as NDP finance critic, said Alberta’s UCP government hasn’t made the situation any easier.
“While overall inflation and interest rates are outside the control of the provincial government, the UCP is directly responsible for costs going up and making a difficult situation even worse.”
The interest rate hike represents the largest one-time increase by the Bank of Canada in over 20 years.
Phillips argues the unwillingness of the provincial government to implement measures to help soften the blow for Albertans is contributing to a fiscal snowball effect.
“The UCP has increased income taxes, property taxes, tuition, park fees, car insurance and utilities. Worst of all they have provided next to nothing to help Albertans with these rising costs. Their natural gas rebate was a fake and they still haven’t delivered their promised electricity rebate. At the same time, wages aren’t keeping pace with inflation, and as a result, Albertans are falling further behind under the UCP.” 3
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