| Jun 2007 | ||
| MLA Legislature Report Alana DeLong, MLA
Government takes action to attract and retain child care staff: A new $1.5 million bursary program has been added to existing programs offered by the government to help child care providers attract and retain staff. The Children's Services Child Care Bursary will help staff in preschool and out-of-school child care programs continue their education. The bursary program was developed in response to concerns raised by the child care community about the costs associated with obtaining further education and will help attract and support staff. Government takes initial step to address teachers' portion of unfunded pension liability: The government has submitted a letter to the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) to commence discussions on seeking a fair, final and lasting solution to the teachers' portion of the pre-1992 unfunded pension liability. Since it was established in the late 1930s, the teachers' pension fund has been underfunded by its two primary sponsors - the ATA and the provincial government. In 1992, the Government of Alberta accepted responsibility for two-thirds of the liability (now $4.3 billion), while teachers accepted responsibility for one-third (now $2.1 billion). In accordance with the 1992 agreement, in 2007 government will contribute over $357 million - $200 million, or 8.39% of teachers' salaries, for current service pension payments plus an additional $157 million, or 6.38% of teachers' salary, for the unfunded pension liability. As of September 1, 2007, 3.1% of a teacher's salary will go towards this liability. The Government of Alberta has submitted a letter to the ATA to seek a solution to this issue. The letter has two components: a task force which will research and consider options to address the teachers' share of the unfunded pre-1992 pension liability; and as a sign of good faith, the Government of Alberta will assume, for one year 100% of contributions for teachers with one to five years of experience; 75% of contributions for teachers with six to 10 years of experience; 50% contributions for teachers with 11 to 15 years of experience; and 25% contributions for teachers with 16 to 20 years of experience. $25 million in student assistance changes to support post-secondary students: Significant changes to the student assistance program totaling $25 million will be implemented by the Alberta government before students begin classes this fall. The changes include increasing living allowances by 14% (the first double digit living allowance increase introduced by the province); eliminating vehicle restrictions (as of August 1, a student may own a vehicle of any value; currently, a student with a vehicle worth more than $5,000 has his or her financial assistance reduced by the vehicle's value over the $5,000 maximum); increasing the annual student loan limit to $13,000 from $12,440 (the Alberta government has increased its loan limits annually for 14 consecutive years); and reducing parental contributions (all provinces and the federal government have agreed to this change subject to the availability of funding. Parents are expected to help pay for their child's education if he or she has been out of high school for four years or less, unless their child has been working or available to work full-time for two years). These measures are part of government's Affordability Framework, which includes immediate and long-term initiatives to make post-secondary education more affordable to students. The framework was developed as part of A Learning Alberta, which sets out the long term vision and policy directions for the advanced education system. Students will also benefit from an increase in the education tax credit, which grows by 26 per cent from $475 to $600 per month for full-time students and from $143 to $180 per month for part-time students. The estimated benefit for parents or students is $3 million in 2007, increasing to $10 million annually in future years. Wishing Everyone a Safe and Relaxing Summer Public Consultations Please visit http://www.gov.ab.ca/home/Index.cfm?Page=625
and provide your input to matters that affect Albertans.
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