It’s too soon by far to pass a verdict on Rachel Notley’s NDP government in Alberta — they were only elected last month, after all. Still, while the government’s first legislative session was brief, it saw a lot of activity. With a federal election coming this fall — and with the federal NDP currently leading the polls — it’s worth recapping what we’ve seen from Alberta’s new government so far. Some of it is good, but there is much cause for concern.
To start on a good note, the province’s tough stand against corporate and union donations to political parties was welcome. Long overdue, the issue was the first the Notley government moved on. It was, quite literally, Bill 1. The law is not as tough as we’d like, with a significant loophole — unions may not directly donate to campaigns, but they may pay their members to work on political campaigns. But Bill 1 is still a big step toward cleaner, fairer politics; as we’ve written before, other provinces — we’re looking at you, Ontario — would be well advised to enact similar, tighter restrictions.
That notable accomplishment aside, though, it’s hard to feel too good about Alberta’s prospects under Notley. Many of the steps taken thus far are puzzling, if not alarming. Consider Notley’s plan to raise the provincial minimum wage. Currently, Alberta’s minimum hourly wage is $10.20. The government announced Monday it was boosting that by a dollar, effective October, and proposes to hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018.
Fervently though the NDP might wish it, minimum wage hikes do little to alleviate poverty. Whatever benefit they confer upon the fewer than two per cent of earners who make minimum wage in the province, they can hardly help those earning no wage at all, that is among the swelling ranks of the province’s unemployed. Indeed, an increase of this magnitude — nearly 50 per cent — could hardly be better calculated to add to their number.
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National Post View: Consider Rachel Notley’s first weeks in office before voting for Thomas Mulcair | National Post
To start on a good note, the province’s tough stand against corporate and union donations to political parties was welcome. Long overdue, the issue was the first the Notley government moved on. It was, quite literally, Bill 1. The law is not as tough as we’d like, with a significant loophole — unions may not directly donate to campaigns, but they may pay their members to work on political campaigns. But Bill 1 is still a big step toward cleaner, fairer politics; as we’ve written before, other provinces — we’re looking at you, Ontario — would be well advised to enact similar, tighter restrictions.
That notable accomplishment aside, though, it’s hard to feel too good about Alberta’s prospects under Notley. Many of the steps taken thus far are puzzling, if not alarming. Consider Notley’s plan to raise the provincial minimum wage. Currently, Alberta’s minimum hourly wage is $10.20. The government announced Monday it was boosting that by a dollar, effective October, and proposes to hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018.
Fervently though the NDP might wish it, minimum wage hikes do little to alleviate poverty. Whatever benefit they confer upon the fewer than two per cent of earners who make minimum wage in the province, they can hardly help those earning no wage at all, that is among the swelling ranks of the province’s unemployed. Indeed, an increase of this magnitude — nearly 50 per cent — could hardly be better calculated to add to their number.
more
National Post View: Consider Rachel Notley’s first weeks in office before voting for Thomas Mulcair | National Post
