Affordability

Everything is getting more expensive. Ordinary working people are struggling to afford the basics like food, insurance, electricity, transportation, and housing. The dream of a secure, middle-class life is slipping away, especially for young people.

A protesting teacher holding a sign that says this is the last straw — Photo Credit: Ron Palmer

It’s time to:

Bring in full public auto insurance
Re-regulate electricity utilities to bring prices down
Introduce rent controls
Create a public housing authority to build more affordable housing
Introduce an excess profits tax to discourage price gouging on necessities like gas and food
Implement a public grocery option and price controls for staple grocery items
Support full implementation of universal public childcare, pharmacare and dental care
Say “no” to leaving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
Build a supplemental Alberta plan (on top of CPP, not instead of it) to help Albertans who don’t have workplace pension plans
Make public transit free
Demand that the federal government take action on monopolies and oligopolies who are using their size and market power to squeeze out competitors, strong-arm suppliers and drive down wages and working conditions for employees (yes, we’re talking about you Google, Amazon, Apple and Walmart!)