On February 24, the Government of Alberta released it's budget. VCC's executive director discussed the budget with the Calgary Herald, noting while she was pleased with supports in the budget, such as funding for retraining programs and reducing barriers to employment, she is concerned about the lack of immediate relief in the budget for Albertans struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. She also stated there was a missed opportunity to assist the most vulnerable Albertans.

“In the short term, I would see no sort of alleviation for people that live in poverty right now and the risk of that is that people fall further into poverty and start losing assets like homes, transportation, etc. There are a number of people who are on income supports who are unable to work because of disability or other reasons, and so we’re not quite sure where this leaves them,” said Reid.

Check out the full article: Budget 2022: Natural gas rebate plan coming next winter, little immediate relief against inflation