Alberta is facing a very different outlook this December, heading into 2016, as compared to last year. At this time last year, oil prices had come “crashing” down to around the $70 mark, as media described it at the time, unaware they would be reporting oil prices under $40/barrel in a year and talking about the possibility of $20 per barrel with a straight face.
Now, we have food bank use that is skyrocketing, unemployment rates that have risen to 7.0 per cent from 4.4 per cent a year earlier and recently there came the latest news that Alberta’s suicide rate has spiked by 30 per cent in the first half of 2015.
Those working with vulnerable populations in the area say that demand for Christmas hampers and Santa’s Elves has also increased this year, with more parents worrying about how they will provide a happy holiday for their children. The community is to be commended in its willingness to pitch in for others who are struggling, just as it has done in the past, and as it will surely do in the future. When there are so many worthwhile causes, it can be hard to know where to give, but somehow, every year, the Knights of Columbus say the community rises to the challenge to provide enough hampers for families in need.
Ultimately, though, that is just a finger in the hole of the foundation, while it is the whole foundation itself that needs to be fixed. It has taken years to get Alberta into this economic state and it will take years to get away from the overreliance on energy prices. So far, the NDP government has shown itself to be lacking in the listening front, pushing through legislation on the strength of its majority as it did with Bill 6 last week. It will take a lot more work, consultation with constituents, the willingness to listen to the good ideas of opposition parties - and a balancing of the need to increase ways of revenue without unnecessarily punitive tax increases - to find a way out of this mess and to brighter Christmases ahead.
