Dear Editor;
Well it had to happen. As with everything rent has to go up. It is hard enough to get by with a seniors income of under $2,300 per month for two people, but that is what is happening in this great town we call Ponoka. While the oil workers receive a healthy wage of over $50 per hour and everyone seems to be wanting more in wages, the seniors who live in Alberta get a raise of about .2 per cent of one per cent per year. We all know that our gifted members of parliament such as Ed Stelmach and others have given themselves a huge raise [behind closed doors I may add]. Bringing Ed’s new salary to a whopping $213,450, is anyone really worth that kind of money?
When rent goes up for a senior couple that is a huge chunk out of the monthly income. Especially when there are so called “Privileged Renters”. What is a privileged renter? It was told to us that if you have been in this certain building [Not mentioning names] for over two years you are a valued tenant, however we have found out that not all people have been in this building for two years and are regarded as “Privileged Customers”. As we have been here for 10 months we have received a notice of rent increase of $65 per month while the “Privileged Renters” get a increase of $30, while our neighbour who has been in his apartment for one year also got a notice of a $30 increase. Go figure! At the time of Stampede food goes up and stays up in both our stores. I really do not know what the seniors of Alberta will do, we are not ex-farm or ranch owners who have sold the farm for two million dollars or whatever. There are some who have worked jobs that did not give a pension and still there are some seniors who have been working so hard all their lives the body is hurt and crippled, what are they to do. It’s easy to sit back in a soft chair in Alberta’s capital and bring in $213,000 per year and think all is rosy through the province, it’s not.
John Thorgrimson
Ponoka