Alberta budget bill cancels planned benefits for adopted children, changes legal aid funding

The Alberta government is backing away from a program that would have provided dental, optical and other health benefits for adopted children.

"This is basically stopping a program that never started," Finance Minister Nate Horner said of the change at a news conference on Monday.

The move is part of a bill introduced in the legislature on Monday that would enable the government to enact its proposed budget.

Bill 39, The Financial Statutes Amendment Act, would also create a new, lower personal income tax bracket, as the government has promised. If passed, it would also trim some programs to save money, and increase some fees, such as raising the locomotive fuel tax by one cent per litre.

The legislation would apply a new eight per cent income tax rate on the first $60,000 a person earns.

Existing tax brackets would have Albertans pay 10 per cent income tax on the first $148,269 they earn for the 2024 tax year.

The change is expected to save each person up to $750 a year. Bill 39 would also introduce a targeted tax credit to ensure no Albertan loses money as a result of the bracket changes.

With the tax break expected to cost the treasury $1.2 billion in lost revenue, and "whiplash policies coming from our neighbours to the south," Horner said the government is looking closely at programs and services to trim costs. It's necessary to keep Alberta as a low-tax jurisdiction, he said.

Halting the proposed health benefits program for adopted children should save about $3 million a year, according to government officials.

"I know $3 million may not sound like much, but if you want to worry about the dollars, you better take care of the dimes," Horner told reporters.

Sheryl Proulx, executive director of the charitable adoption organization Adoption Options, said a private adoption can cost a family between $10,000 and $15,000.

"It would have been a huge support, as many adoptive children have unique medical and psychological needs," Proulx said.

A benefits program would have been especially helpful for families adopting older children, children with disabilities, and children who have been exposed to alcohol or drugs in utero, who may require lifelong help.

Eliminating the program before it begins could prevent some families from adopting children with more complex needs, she said.