Latest news with #ServiceAlberta
Calgary Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta gives U.S. liquor imports thumbs-up
Stores in Alberta can now sell newer American liquor products after a provincial agency ended a three-month pause ignited by a tariff dispute between Canada and the U.S. Article content The directive came from the province as Canada shifts its approach from retaliating to negotiating with its southern neighbour on economic policies. Article content Article content Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally, in a statement on Friday night, said the government's decision heralds a 'renewed commitment to open and fair trade with our largest partner.' Article content Article content 'The decision sets the stage for more constructive negotiations ahead of a Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement renewal, potentially leading to increased trade opportunities and economic growth for Alberta,' Nally added. Article content Article content The decision concerns liquor products registered with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis agency (AGLC) and declared to the Canada Border Services Agency. A 25 per cent surtax will continue to be levied on those items shipped from the U.S. after March 4 and will be collected by the provincial agency. Article content Article content Ravinder Singh, a manager at ACE Liquor Discounters Edmonton Trail, said the decision likely won't affect the store's sales, as the shop's inventory still holds enough stock of older American products. Article content The move to ban the sale of American liquor was made in early March amid escalating trade tensions. Article content Article content 'If the Americans aren't going to buy products from our Canadian companies, we have to,' Premier Danielle Smith said at the time. Article content 'That means we should be buying more Canadian beer, more Canadian spirits and more Canadian wine. And so that's the reality of what we're facing.' Article content The ban was lifted March 18, but the sales were confined to AGLC's central locations. Article content Singh said the demand for American products dropped after March owing to a wave of patriotism across the country. Whereas the store sold them daily, the products are now being bought twice or thrice a week, even three months after the pause.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Alberta scraps beer tax hike, citing Trump's tariffs and desire to support Canadian business
Alberta's government has ditched a new fee schedule for breweries that would have seen the province's oldest beer maker pay significantly more in taxes. The schedule, introduced in February after Alberta tabled its budget, substantially lowered the production threshold breweries needed to meet before they paid the highest fee to the government, while also adjusting the production limits and fees building up to the cap. Before the change, breweries were able to produce 400,000 hectolitres – or 40-million litres – before they paid $1.25 per litre, which is the cap. The schedule in February lowered that threshold to 18-million litres. Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said at the time the lower limit would even the playing field for small breweries and that '99 per cent' of companies wouldn't pay more. Calgary-based Big Rock Brewery, Alberta's oldest and biggest craft beer producer, was one of the few that didn't fall under the 99 per cent. The company calculated it was going to pay about $1.4-million more to the government in fees every year. In a statement Thursday, Nally's office said the government has abandoned the new fee schedule and installed again a higher production threshold and more gradual fee increases beneath it. 'In light of the impacts of U.S. tariffs, continued trade uncertainty and the importance of working collectively as a country to support Canadian businesses, additional adjustments to the small brewer markup rates are needed,' said Nally's press secretary Brandon Aboultaif. 'We are increasing the threshold to qualify for reduced markup rates and making the transition to the standard markup rate more gradual as small brewers continue to grow their businesses.' Aboultaif didn't answer questions about whether the change was made in light of the disproportionate impact the schedule was having on Big Rock or if the system wasn't protecting small brewers as Nally had said it would. As of June 1, the production limit has been raised to 30-million litres, and Aboultaif said the fee ladder is more gradual. This means the vast majority of Alberta breweries won't pay as much per litre of beer they make. Brad Goddard, vice-president of business development and government relations for Big Rock, lauded the reversal. He said it came after productive conversations that Big Rock had with Nally, the provincial liquor regulator and other government ministers. Goddard added the change couldn't have come at a better time. 'Every week of summertime beer sales – this makes our year,' said Goddard. He explained companies pay the fees as they produce, so when Big Rock and others kick-start production for summer, they'll be paying the lower rate. Goddard said it's also a timing win, because this week U.S. President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on aluminum to 50 per cent from 25 per cent. 'The Alberta government took a step that will help us navigate those challenging tariff waters, and for that I'm very grateful,' he said, adding aluminum cans are one of Big Rock's biggest input costs. 'This reduction in the markup will help us manage that at a really key time.' Even though the outgoing fee schedule was in place for three months, Goddard said the company paid roughly $400,000 more in provincial taxes than it would have before. He said the company isn't dwelling on the hit, as the government's reversal is 'largely a restoration of some of the previous opportunity.' Beer Canada, which represents breweries of all sizes, had celebrated the February schedule, describing it at the time as a step toward equity for 'truly smaller scale craft brewers' in Alberta. The agency's five board of directors are all executives for some of the largest beer companies in the country, including the president of Molson Coors Canada. Beer Canada's vice-president of strategic communications, Karine Cousineau, said in an e-mail the group understands Alberta's reasoning for a reversal but it still wants to see the province implement 'permanent broad-based beer tax relief for all Canadian brewers, our hospitality partners and Alberta beer consumers.' The executive director of the Alberta Small Brewers Association, Blair Berdusco, said the group is more than happy to see the turnaround. '(It) definitely improves the future outlook for the industry and potential for how breweries can continue their brands going forward.' Berdusco said the 30-million-litre threshold is a win for the industry compared to what was in place, especially since the association and other craft brewery groups across Canada are pushing for all provinces to follow Saskatchewan in having a 50-million-litre limit. 'It's great to see that (Nally) took a look at what's going on and has recognized the value in trying to make things more equal and more alike across provincial lines,' Berdusco said.
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Alberta government walks back beer tax hike citing tariffs, need to support business
Alberta's government has ditched a new fee schedule for breweries that would have seen the province's oldest beer maker pay significantly more in taxes. The schedule was introduced in February and it substantially lowered the production threshold breweries needed to hit before they had to pay higher fees to the government. Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said at the time that the fee hike was supposed to protect small breweries and that "99 per cent" of companies wouldn't pay more. Calgary-based Big Rock Brewery didn't fall under the 99 per cent, and the company calculated it was going to pay $1.4 million more every year. Nally's office says the government decided to lower the fees in light of U.S. tariffs and to ensure small breweries are supported as they grow. The province replaced the fee system as of June 1 in favour of a schedule of more gradual increases.
Toronto Star
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Investigation finds Alberta government not complying with freedom of information laws
EDMONTON - Alberta's access to information watchdog has found the provincial government to be non-compliant with its own freedom of information rules. A new report from information and privacy commissioner Diane McLeod says Alberta's government has implemented internal procedures and policies that allow government employees to wrongfully deny freedom of information requests. The report, released Friday, follows a two-year investigation sparked by complaints made about the handling of more than 30 individual information requests, many of which were made by The Globe and Mail as part of its investigation into freedom of information systems across Canada. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW McLeod's report says the information requests she reviewed were denied for not providing enough detail, which she determined is not a valid reason under provincial freedom of information laws. Under Alberta's freedom of information rules, government employees have a duty to assist an applicant. If a request doesn't have enough detail to identify records, McLeod said it's up to government staff to seek further information on what is being sought. McLeod wrote that didn't happen for the requests she reviewed for her investigation, which determined all 27 Alberta government departments to be at fault. The report said applicants were asked to narrow down the scope of their request, such as time frame and topic, or submit multiple requests so the government could meet its legislated response window of 30 days. But in many cases, files were actually closed the same day those asks were sent out, the report states. McLeod said this process, which she says violates the 'scheme' of Alberta's freedom of information law, is laid out in an internal government manual called the 'Access Request Playbook.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The manual and the government's attempts to have information requests be reduced in scope are meant to make it easier to fulfill requests, McLeod wrote, but it has made the process unfair since it's 'not the duty of the applicant to make the search easy for the public body.' 'Further, the degree of specificity identified ... as necessary to meet the 'enough detail' threshold ... is simply unattainable by an applicant and, in my view, it is unreasonable for a public body to require such specificity from an applicant when making an access request,' McLeod wrote. 'A member of the general public does not know what records are in the custody or control of a public body. They are not privy to the inner workings of government and, therefore, could not be expected to know specifics about any records held by government.' Osagie Ogunbor, a spokesperson for Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally, said in an email that the ministry is considering McLeod's findings and plans to work with her to address concerns. 'We're committed to openness and transparency, and we are proud of our record,' Ogunbor said, adding that about 97 per cent of freedom of information requests in 2023-24 were handled without complaints to the commissioner's office. McLeod's investigation also found the government unnecessarily refused requests by citing a section of the legislation that allows requests to be denied if creating requested records would unreasonably impede government operations. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Her report says that as part of her investigation, the government submitted its interpretation of the section as meaning that it only 'requires public bodies to provide access to records that already exist' rather than create new records that contain government data. McLeod is recommending the government make a number of changes to its internal policies to ensure requests aren't denied for not providing enough detail, and to ensure government bodies meet their duty to assist applicants. 'I acknowledge that managing the volume of access requests received by government public bodies can be challenging and that resources to do this work are not infinite,' she wrote. 'However, in administering the access to information provisions of the (law), there is only one choice that these public bodies have and that is to administer these provisions ... in such a manner that ensures Albertans are able to effectively exercise these rights.' A news release from the commissioner's office notes that Alberta will soon replace its freedom of information legislation with a new act after a government overhaul took place last year. It says the relevant sections at play are unchanged in the new framework. 'For that reason, I expect government public bodies to apply my findings and recommendations to their practices under both the existing and the new legislation,' McLeod said Ogunbor said that 'many' of the recommendations will be addressed through the new legislation and its regulations. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Investigation finds Alberta government not complying with freedom of information laws
EDMONTON - Alberta's access to information watchdog has found the provincial government to be non-compliant with its own freedom of information rules. A new report from information and privacy commissioner Diane McLeod says Alberta's government has implemented internal procedures and policies that allow government employees to wrongfully deny freedom of information requests. The report, released Friday, follows a two-year investigation sparked by complaints made about the handling of more than 30 individual information requests, many of which were made by The Globe and Mail as part of its investigation into freedom of information systems across Canada. McLeod's report says the information requests she reviewed were denied for not providing enough detail, which she determined is not a valid reason under provincial freedom of information laws. Under Alberta's freedom of information rules, government employees have a duty to assist an applicant. If a request doesn't have enough detail to identify records, McLeod said it's up to government staff to seek further information on what is being sought. McLeod wrote that didn't happen for the requests she reviewed for her investigation, which determined all 27 Alberta government departments to be at fault. The report said applicants were asked to narrow down the scope of their request, such as time frame and topic, or submit multiple requests so the government could meet its legislated response window of 30 days. But in many cases, files were actually closed the same day those asks were sent out, the report states. McLeod said this process, which she says violates the 'scheme' of Alberta's freedom of information law, is laid out in an internal government manual called the 'Access Request Playbook.' The manual and the government's attempts to have information requests be reduced in scope are meant to make it easier to fulfill requests, McLeod wrote, but it has made the process unfair since it's 'not the duty of the applicant to make the search easy for the public body.' 'Further, the degree of specificity identified ... as necessary to meet the 'enough detail' threshold ... is simply unattainable by an applicant and, in my view, it is unreasonable for a public body to require such specificity from an applicant when making an access request,' McLeod wrote. 'A member of the general public does not know what records are in the custody or control of a public body. They are not privy to the inner workings of government and, therefore, could not be expected to know specifics about any records held by government.' Osagie Ogunbor, a spokesperson for Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally, said in an email that the ministry is considering McLeod's findings and plans to work with her to address concerns. 'We're committed to openness and transparency, and we are proud of our record,' Ogunbor said, adding that about 97 per cent of freedom of information requests in 2023-24 were handled without complaints to the commissioner's office. McLeod's investigation also found the government unnecessarily refused requests by citing a section of the legislation that allows requests to be denied if creating requested records would unreasonably impede government operations. Her report says that as part of her investigation, the government submitted its interpretation of the section as meaning that it only 'requires public bodies to provide access to records that already exist' rather than create new records that contain government data. McLeod is recommending the government make a number of changes to its internal policies to ensure requests aren't denied for not providing enough detail, and to ensure government bodies meet their duty to assist applicants. 'I acknowledge that managing the volume of access requests received by government public bodies can be challenging and that resources to do this work are not infinite,' she wrote. 'However, in administering the access to information provisions of the (law), there is only one choice that these public bodies have and that is to administer these provisions ... in such a manner that ensures Albertans are able to effectively exercise these rights.' A news release from the commissioner's office notes that Alberta will soon replace its freedom of information legislation with a new act after a government overhaul took place last year. It says the relevant sections at play are unchanged in the new framework. 'For that reason, I expect government public bodies to apply my findings and recommendations to their practices under both the existing and the new legislation,' McLeod said Ogunbor said that 'many' of the recommendations will be addressed through the new legislation and its regulations. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
