Alberta MPs call on feds to lower business taxes, eliminate carbon tax to stimulate job growth

Four Conservative members of Parliamentare calling on the federal Liberals to immediately eliminate the proposed carbon tax, reduce corporate and small business taxes and reverse planned increases to Canada Pension Plan contributions measures they say will help alleviate a jobs crisis in Alberta.

The recommendations come from the Alberta Jobs Taskforce Report released Monday at events in Calgary and Edmonton by Tory opposition leader Rona Ambrose, along with fellow Alberta MPsMichelle Rempel, Matt Jeneroux and John Barlow.

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The group commissioned the report in October 2016 in response to two years of economic recession in the province.

"Albertansare faced with the worst recession and unemployment in a generation,"Rempelsaid at an event in Calgary.

"There are currently 220,000Albertansout of work, and the unemployment rate in Alberta has nearly doubled since the start of 2015. We're seeing increased unemployment, increased [employment insurance] applications, increases in crime severity indexes and decreased job vacancy rates."

In total, the report makes 11 recommendations the authorssay will stimulatejob creation and economic growth:

• 1) Reduce the tax burden: Eliminatethe proposed carbon tax, reviewcorporate tax rates and reducethe Small Business Tax Rate to nineper cent, and reversethe mandatory increase to CPP contributions.
• 2) Support oil and gas job creation:Honourdecisions of the National Energy Board that will see the approval and expansion of pipeline projects.Reduceregulatory burden and red tape on natural resources projects.
• 3) Support unemployed Albertans:Encourage retrainingprograms by increasing their and offerincentives to workers and employers who use them. Review the EIprogram to improve efficiency andfairness.
• 4) Support Alberta families:Invest in programs tohelp food banks respond to the growing demand. Reversethenew mortgage rules.Increase mental health funding.
• 5) Help Alberta job creators:Reduceredtapeand regulatory hurdles for new small businesses.Createtaxcredits and work-sharing programs to encouragehiring of unemployed skilled workers.Createincentives to encourage young and new Canadians to start a business.
• 6) Help Alberta youth:Implementprograms to encourage employers to hire recent graduates. Exploreways to reduce the burden of student debt for job seekers. Increasefinancial literacy.
• 7) Improve federal-provincial relations: Coordinateto reduceunnecessary regulations and removetrade-barriers. Make fiscally responsible infrastructure investments. Reviewthe Equalization Payment Formula.
• 8) Increase Canada's competitiveness:Buildon Canada's bilateral relationship with the United States. Expandfree-trade agreements around the world.
• 9)Encourage Alberta's economic diversification: Create a hub for clean tech development. Partnerwith First Nations communities to fostereconomic growth.
• 10)Reviewthe immigration system: Reformcredential matching for new Canadians. Reformthe Temporary Foreign Workers Program to address wage distortion andoveruse of the program.
• 11)Commit to balance the federal budget within five years.

Canada West Foundation report

Another report released Monday by Canada West Foundation co-authored by Janet Lane suggests creating a framework to match those looking for work with jobs they can actually do.

"The big thing we think is going on is there's not enough understanding of what people can do and what jobs require people to do," she told CBC Calgary News at 6.

"We have a tendency in this country to hire on the basis of qualifications and credentials, rather than on what specifically the tasks of the job are and what competencies people have, so we're suggesting industry and the government get together and create this competency framework."

In his latest quarterly update presented last week, Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci said modest growth is predicted for the coming year, with the GDP expected to rise by 2.4 per cent.

Ceci also said 18,000 jobs have been created since a low point inJuly 2016, with a majority of those 12,500 in the oil and gas sector.