EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today released figures showing a new tax on Alberta businesses is generating at least $2.6 million per year in extra revenues for Regional Health Authorities.

In June of 2002, cabinet passed a new Food Amendment Regulation (A.R. 125/2002 under the Public Health Act) allowing Regional Health Authorities to charge businesses a fee ranging from $100 to $500 for Food Establishment Permits. The Permit and fee are not limited to restaurants, but must also be paid by drug stores and gas stations which sell chocolate bars and other non-perishables. This new fee came into effect in the fall of 2002, and must be paid regardless of whether or not a health inspector comes to the business.

Regional Health Authorities in Calgary and Edmonton are receiving over $800,000 each in new revenues from businesses located in those two cities. Province-wide, the fifteen Regional Health Authorities which have responded to the CTF's requests for information estimate that they collected $2,610,022 in 2002 alone. The annual total would be higher, and then higher still if it included all RHAs.

Two Regional Health Authorities have thus far refused to provide information as to how much money they are collecting: Crossroads R.H.A. #9, and Northwestern R.H.A. #17. The CTF has written to Health Minister Gary Mar requesting his assistance in obtaining this information from those two Authorities.

"A drug store which sells chocolate bars must now pay one hundred dollars per year for a Food Establishment Permit, even though a food inspector will never enter that store to carry out a public health inspection," stated CTF-Alberta director John Carpay.

"This isn't a user fee, because you pay it regardless of whether a food inspector ever comes. It's simply a tax grab," continued Carpay.

"A tax has two characteristics. First, it is mandatory. Second, the money that is taken goes to the government or to a government body or agency. This new fee is mandatory, and the money goes to a government body. Therefore it's a tax," added Carpay.

"Albertans would welcome real reforms to the health care system, to introduce more accountability into our government-funded, government-managed, government-delivered, government-evaluated system. But raising taxes in the name of health care simply is not health care reform," continued Carpay.

"Like all taxes on business, this new fee is being paid for by Albertans as consumers when they purchase food, as employees in the form of lower wages, and as investors and shareholders in the form of lower profits. It flies in the face of Premier Klein's pre-election promise that the only way taxes would go in this province is down," concluded Carpay.


Regional Health Authority Tax collected in 2002 as "food permit fee" (estimated)

Chinook Regional Health Authority #1 -- $31,800

Palliser Health Authority #2 -- $100,000

Headwaters Health Authority # 3 -- $100,000

Calgary Health Region # 4 -- $819,083

Regional Health Authority # 5 -- $52,000

David Thompson Regional Health Authority # 6 -- $150,000

East Central Regional Health Authority # 7 -- $70,000

Westview Regional Health Authority # 8 -- $100,139

Crossroads Regional Health Authority # 9 -- Refused to provide information

Capital Health Authority # 10 -- $821,000

Aspen Regional Health Authority # 11 -- $111,000

Lakeland Regional Health Authority # 12 -- $90,000

Mistahia Regional Health Authority # 13 -- $100,000

Peace Regional Health Authority # 14 -- (not implemented until Jan/03)

Keeweetinok Lakes Regional Health Authority # 15 -- $40,000

Northern Lights Regional Health Authority # 16 -- $25,000

Northwestern Regional Health Authority # 17 -- Refused to provide information

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,610,022

Note: the actual total exceeds $2,610,022 because it would include taxes collected by Regional Health Authorities #9, #14, and #17. Further, these numbers do not indicate annual totals, but only what was collected in 2002.