The Parkland Institute

Op-eds | February 06, 2010

Alberta families pay most in Canada for health, education, and utilities

by Shannon Phillips

Albertans are waiting for the provincial budget next week, when it is expected the Conservative government will be cutting health, education, and community services in ways we have not seen since the early 1990s. But Albertans will not just be bracing for larger classes, longer emergency room waits, or fewer services for vulnerable people . Budget cuts also mean families will see more of their take-home pay get eaten up by fees for public services, when we already pay more than any other Canadians for health care, education, child care, and home utilities.

Parkland Institute research shows the high cost of being Albertan: an average Alberta family pays $6746 for household necessities like health care, education, child care, and home utilities, while the average family in the rest of Canada pays $5627. This research builds on work that also shows low and middle-income Albertans pay higher tax rates than low- and middle-income families in many other provinces. Out-of-pocket costs and the shifting tax burden explain why the ‘Alberta Advantage’ is a myth for many families.

Albertans have the highest out- of- pocket spending on health care in the nation. Even accounting for the elimination of health care premiums, Albertans still pay 13% more than other Canadians for so-called ‘extras’ to the health care system.

Within health care spending, dental and eye care, nursing homes, and ambulance fees stand out as big- ticket items for average families. Eye exams for adults were de-listed in the mid 1990s and dental care has never been included in Alberta’s public health care plan. Another area where Albertans paid significantly more was for ‘other medical services,’ which include nursing homes and ambulances. This coincides with a campaign to downgrade long term care homes to assisted living homes, un-bundling services, and transferring costs on to seniors and their families. Alberta’s ambulance charges are among the highest in Canada. Fees vary by municipality: for example, Edmonton charged $344 for an ambulance in 2007. A family with a child experiencing an asthma breathing crisis in Edmonton would pay $344 for an ambulance. By contrast, the same ambulance would cost a BC family $80.

Albertans also pay 33% more than the rest of Canada for household utilities.  Alberta’s utilities have been under-funded, deregulated and privatized to a great extent by the province and across municipalities. Not coincidentally, Albertans spent the highest fees in the nation for combined water, sewage, heat, and electricity. Our water and sewage rates are the highest rates in Canada and more than double the national average. Fees for electricity are among the highest in Canada.

Albertans pay some of the highest child care fees in Canada for a system that has the fewest number of regulated spaces. We also spend more than the Canadian average on textbooks, supplies, and other supplementary items for K-12 education as well as tuition fees for post-secondary schools.

All of the above goes some way to explaining why Alberta families consistently report high levels of financial stress, and why many people are seeing shrinking take-home pay despite the recent oil boom. Albertans pay for public services – either through their tax dollars or through out-of-pocket fees, and these costs add up to far more than nickles and dimes. Premier Stelmach’s coming cuts will simply download more costs on to low- and middle-income families. It is financial pain that is completely unnecessary, given Alberta’s excellent financial position, zero public debt, and $40 billion in rainy-day savings.

Links to Media:

• The Lethbridge Herald, February 06, 2010

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