UCP’s sleazy plan is all about giving public assets to corporate pals
Opposition is growing to the Government of Alberta’s plan to privatize land titles, personal, property and corporate registry services.
The issue was raised at a meeting of the town council in Bashaw, about 85 km northeast of Red Deer, last week.
As reported by the East Central Alberta Review, Chief Administrative Officer Theresa Fuller provided councillors with a press release from AUPE complaining about a provincial government idea to privatize certain offerings of the Service Alberta ministry.
Fuller told the council that if privatization is approved, it could have an effect on the town because fees for things such as title searches could go up.
Councillors approved a motion to send an email to Service Alberta stating the Town of Bashaw is opposed to the privatization of these services.
Former Progressive Conservative Service Alberta Minister Doug Griffiths has written to the current UCP minister Nate Glubish to say that privatizing the Land Titles would be a mistake that could lead to “substantially increased costs, or reduced services.”
Griffiths also notes that the Land Titles services have “been starved of needed resources, which created inefficiencies, backlogs, and increased costs.” It is government that has caused the issues by underfunding the system.
The Association of Condominium Managers of Alberta (ACMA) also oppose privatization. The board of directors said in a letter to Glubish: “As advocates for thousands of condominiums and many real estate industry members in Alberta, ACMA understands the profound and negative effects privatization would have for individual condo owners and our industry members.”
The letter adds that “there has been no evidence that the privatization of Alberta Land Titles would benefit the public, the provincial budget or the many industries that access publicly controlled land titles data.”
Privatization will cost about 130 jobs, as well as depriving the government of billions of dollars in revenue over the proposed 35-year term and lead to increased costs for Albertans who use these services.
So, why is it even even being considered?
To answer that question, Albertans need look no further than who is pushing for privatization.
As freelance journalist Kim Sievers reports, this is about for-profit corporations having friends in high places inside the UCP. The plan to privatize comes after intense lobbying from corporations with extremely close ties to the UCP and Premier Jason Kenney.
Privatization of the land titles, personal property and corporate registries has nothing to do with what’s best for Albertans. It’s all about what’s best for Kenney’s corporate pals.
Now, that’s sleazy!
Want to join the fight against privatization? It’s easy. Find out how here.