据亚省财政部长Joe Ceci 的宣布，每户亚省低收入家庭现在可领 $1,688 的政府补贴金。Joe 称这项新的福利举措是为了帮助那些在生存线上挣扎的低收入家庭能度过生活难关幸福地生活。 

按照新的财政预算，亚省实施新的福利政策后，给低收入家庭父母总共可以给出每年3.36亿的财政，分摊给19万9000个亚省家庭，包括38万名儿童。这样每个低收入家庭平均可以拿到$1,688 加元的补贴。 

星期二在卡尔加里的Saddletown YMCA 记者招待会上，亚省财政部长Joe Ceci 这样说，“这些补助项目将会显著地帮助那些困难户度过生活难关过上幸福日子。这是我们在很久以前就一直想做的正确的事情。” 

实际上，这些对低收入家庭福利政策已经包括在新民主党在10月份公布的首次政府预算案中了，只不过这次财长和人力服务部长Irfan Sabir 在记者招待会上对这些福利政策作了更细致的诠释。 

Alberta's new benefits for low-income parents are expected to total $336 million annually and reach 199,000 families across the province, including 380,000 children — that's an average of $1,688 per family each year.

"These programs will significantly help families stop struggling and start thriving," Finance Minister Joe Ceci said at a press conference at the Saddletown YMCA in Calgary on Tuesday.

"It's the right thing to do and it should have been done a long time ago."

The new benefits were included in the NDP government's first budget, released in October, but Ceci and Human Services Minister Irfan Sabir spoke in more detail about them at the press conference.

The new Alberta Child Benefit will be made available to all families with an annual income below $41,220, with the value depending on how many children they have.

The maximum benefit for a family with one child is $1,100, increasing to $2,750 for families with four or more children.

Families will receive the benefits in quarterly instalments, starting in August 2016, Sabir said.

In addition, the modified Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit will provide a larger credit to more families of low and moderate income than in the past.

Families with one child will now see a maximum annual benefit of $754, ranging up to $1,987 for families with four children or more.

The "phase out" threshold for that credit has also been boosted from its previous level of $36,778 to $41,250.

For families earning above that threshold, the amount of the credit will decrease proportionately to income, reaching zero around $77,000.

One in four Alberta families routinely struggles to make ends meet, according to Franco Savoia, director of Vibrant Communities Calgary, an anti-poverty agency.

He said the policy changes will help many people "lift themselves out of poverty."

"This has been a long time coming and it's a very, very important step," Savoia said.