Smith defends energy rebate, says $100 coming in 'next few days'

Alberta's energy rebate program has drawn concerns over the amount and application process which asks for personal banking information in order to receive the funds

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended her government’s energy rebate program on Thursday, acknowledging issues with the process but also promising funds should be coming shortly for those who have applied. The program was announced June 17 and offers a one-time $100 rebate in place of the prior fuel tax relief program which offered graduated relief from the 13-cents-per-litre provincial tax dependent on world oil prices. The portal for the rebate opened on Canada Day with payments intended to be delivered within two weeks.

Speaking with reporters outside the legislature Thursday morning, Smith said close to 800,000 of the 3.4 million eligible Albertans had completed the online application, but also that changes could be coming to improve the process. “There were some issues around validation because finance wanted to make sure that we had additional fraud protection measures on there,” she said. “Some of it made it difficult for some people to access it, so we’re looking at some ways to be able to streamline that to make it easier for us to validate income without creating additional barriers.”

Smith told her radio show last week that the government had identified 35,000 fraudulent requests for the rebate money. Payments were slated to begin arriving in email inboxes and bank accounts starting on Wednesday, though some indicate they have not yet received their funds. Smith said any delay may be due to how the money is released in batches.

“I think we would expect to see them in the next few days.” The rebate program and its portal have drawn criticism from seniors who are less familiar with online banking, and others concerned about the security of their personal information after the provincial list of electors was published by a separatist group in the spring. Others, including Gunter, have questioned the rebate and accompanying process, claiming the prior fuel tax reduction program offered quicker, more generous relief to drivers.

Smith said the prior program left many drivers questioning if gas stations were passing on the savings to them, describing it as “a bit flawed.” “We had heard the first time when we put the program in place, people just felt like they weren’t getting it flow through to them,” she said. Under the fuel tax relief program, tax rates are adjusted quarterly based on the average price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), with partial relief kicking in when prices rise above US$80 with the tax being fully suspended when prices rise above US$90.

As of mid-day Thursday, WTI was trading at US$79, though that price had sank below US$72 earlier in the week after rising as high as US$112 in early April. WTI prices are evaluated over a 20-trading day period. The results of the next review is scheduled for Oct. 1, though Smith said her government was pondering potential changes to the program.

“We’ll take feedback,” she said. “We’ll be monitoring it, and we’ll make a decision once we get through that this next quarter.” Official Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi said his New Democrat MLAs had long been calling for the gas tax to be suspended as part of the party’s affordability agenda, and accused the government of breaking its own law by failing to follow the fuel tax relief program.

He went on to say the province’s energy rebate amounted to too little to make a difference for many Albertans, who he said had to work through an overly complicated process to receive their money. “A one-time 100 bucks that you have to spend an hour and get an internet access and give all your banking information over is not the answer.”