No child should go to bed hungry and every family should have a roof over their head.

The Alberta NDP was proud to cut child poverty in half between 2015 and 2019, and we are committed to doing more.

Today, more Alberta families are struggling to make ends meet. Food bank use is rising and more Albertans are living paycheque to paycheque.

Inequality and poverty are on the rise and we must take action.

Over 330,000 Albertans are living in poverty today according to Statistics Canada surveys. Kids in single-parent families and single adults are at the highest risk of poverty.

But instead of helping families, the UCP has made life harder for Albertans experiencing poverty. They cut shelter benefits and affordable housing supports. The UCP promised to keep benefits indexed to inflation and broke that promise immediately. As a result, low income Albertans lost thousands of dollars a year. The UCP may promise a lot but Albertans know they can’t be trusted.

Not only is supporting families the right thing to do, it’s good for the economy. Poverty costs the Alberta economy up to $9.5 billion annually in healthcare costs, increased crime rates, and reduced economic activity.

We must do better.

• We’ll work to ensure no child goes hungry by investing an additional $35 million in a School Nutrition Program to provide nutritious food for up to 75,000 students across Alberta.
• We will make a historic 50% increase to the Family, Community and Social Service work of non-profit groups and associations serving local communities across Alberta with programs and services such as meal delivery for seniors.

We will index benefits permanently so they keep up with the cost of living, and we will review income supports to address gaps.

As part of the review, we will consult on:

• Eliminating the discrimination in Income Support eligibility and amounts between Barriers to Full Employment and AISH.
• Removing unfair clawbacks and asset thresholds that keep people in poverty and are disincentives to training and employment.
• The Income Supports Appeals Secretariat to improve accessibility and reduce poverty.

Our historic affordable housing investment will provide new units, rent supplements, and wraparound services, all of which will help support people out of poverty.

Similarly, we will consult on Inclusion and Accessibility legislation to support community participation and the economic equity of persons with disabilities.

We will support the work of not-for-profit groups and associations that serve local communities across Alberta by providing stable and adequate funding. This will help these vital service partners keep pace with rising demands for services and rising costs due to inflation.

We will index the minimum wage to inflation. It’s an idea that has been around for decades and was promoted by former Premier Ed Stelmach and the business community. It’s not a partisan approach - it just makes sense.

It’s good for Alberta families, it’s good for Alberta’s economy. We’ll also get rid of the UCP’s unfair “youth minimum wage”.

So that Albertans receive scheduled benefits, we will implement optional automatic tax filings for Albertans who receive income support. And we will support community-based tax services and financial literacy programs.

We all succeed when we look out for one another, and together we can build a better future for all Albertans.