Op-eds | January 27, 2012
Harper must get fired up to deal with fuel shortage:
Lack of contingency plans for likely international oil crisis will leave Canada in the cold
Smallpox is a scary disease. It kills a fifth of those infected, and scars and blinds many survivors. Canada has been smallpox free since 1962 and the world since 1977. But, Canada has a smallpox contingency plan. So does Britain. The chances of a smallpox outbreak are remote, but I am happy to pay taxes so Canada can employ people to fight its return. That’s what governments are for.
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For Immediate Release | December 05, 2011
New report says markets are a poor solution to Alberta’s water woes:
Non-market solutions would be better for environment, public interest, and First Nations
A new report released this morning by the U of A’s Parkland Institute says an expansion of water markets in Alberta would have adverse effects on the environment, people’s access to water, and First Nations communities. It also recommends alternatives for dealing with Alberta’s current water crisis that would be more in keeping with Albertans’ values, and the values that underlie Alberta’s historical water laws.
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Alternative water futures in Alberta:
For Immediate Release | November 07, 2011
Edmonton conference to look at how workers are fighting back against attacks on their rights and dem
The past year has seen numerous attacks on public services, democracy, and the rights of workers all under the guise of austerity and with the economic crisis as a backdrop. We have also seen mass mobilizations and organized actions in response to these attacks
Op-eds | October 06, 2011
Taxes and the ghost of Bob Blair
Bob had a different answer. Speaking at a Senate hearing, he asked why the federal government was intent on going after “welfare moms” to reduce the debt, as they didn’t have any money.
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Op-eds | September 01, 2011
The debt crisis: A case of false memory syndrome
The acclaimed author, Milan Kundera, has written that, “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” But the ongoing world financial crisis shows how false memories can fool us and make us unable to confront corporate power.
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Op-eds | July 27, 2011
What in tar-nation?:
There’s less than meets the eye to Alberta’s surprising about-face on a national energy strategy.
I never thought I’d see the day when the words “national,” “energy” and “strategy” would be strung together and promoted by the Alberta government. For 30 years, Pierre Trudeau’s 1980 National Energy Program (NEP) had been recurrently trotted out by Alberta premiers and Calgary’s oilpatch, strung up, and ritualistically pummelled.
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Mentions | June 21, 2011
Billing Doctors:
A look at criticisms of fee-for-service in health care
Diana Gibson on Alberta Primetime looking at fee-for-service medicine as an Alberta doctor is accused of charging the province for seeing more than one hundred patients a day.
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For Immediate Release | June 02, 2011
It’s time to fix Alberta’s broken revenue system - new report
In recent months both the Premier’s Council for Economic Strategy and former Premier Peter Lougheed have emphasized the need for Alberta to stop relying on volatile energy revenues to fund public services and infrastructure. A new report released today by the U of A’s Parkland Institute takes the conversation to the next level by discussing how we can change our tax system to accomplish that goal.
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Related research:
Fixing What’s Broken: Fair and sustainable solutions to Alberta's revenue problems
Op-eds | June 01, 2011
Frontier Centre’s argument not based in fact:
Changing water allocation system requires careful analysis of all alternatives
As Alberta’s population continues to increase, and the economy continues to grow, so too do concerns about the future availability of water, particularly in the semi-arid south. How the government deals with the critical issue of water allocation in the province will have significant consequences not only for the province’s population centres, but also for the province’s water-intensive agricultural industry, economic growth and the long-term sustainability of critical provincial eco-systems.
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Op-eds | February 25, 2011
Tories’ gross fiscal mismanagement sells Albertans short:
Government focuses on spending without beefing up available revenues
On the same day that Alberta’s provincial budget was released to the public, oil briefly hit over $103 per barrel. Third-quarter results from the oil patch revealed a doubling or tripling of profits in that sector. And despite the economic downturn in 2009, that year was the second most profitable Alberta’s oilsands operators had ever seen.
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For Immediate Release | February 23, 2011
New research shows infrastructure spending is not out of control
EDMONTON – In advance of the release of the 2011 Alberta Budget, one which will certainly include a significant amount of infrastructure spending, the Parkland Institute has released a new fact sheet demonstrating that infrastructure spending in Alberta is not out of control, and that in fact more is needed.
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Unpacking Alberta’s infrastructure spending: Real increases have been moderate
Op-eds | February 07, 2011
Wildrose leader’s private model a flawed remedy for health care
News of Ed Stelmach eventually stepping down as premier raises a variety of questions about the direction of policy in Alberta, no less so with the government being seriously challenged by the Wildrose Alliance from further right on the ideological spectrum.
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For Immediate Release | December 09, 2010
Treaty rights impacted downstream of tar sands:
Chiefs call on governments to protect Athabasca river
Contaminants and low water levels in the Athabasca River system are impacting treaty rights, finds a new report released today in Edmonton.
The peer reviewed study was conducted with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Mikisew Cree First Nation. It examined traditional land and water use, and the impact of contaminants and low water levels in the lower Athabasca River system.
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Related research:
As Long as the Rivers Flow: Athabasca River Knowledge, Use and Change
Op-eds | December 05, 2010
Generosity for energy sector, tough times for everyone else:
As industry rakes in billions, public services are cut and deficit grows
After a long string of billions in drilling incentives and royalty holidays for the oilpatch over the last two years, the latest provincial budget update recently confirmed the $5-billion scale of Alberta’s expected deficit. Already enduring a recession and a variety of cuts to public services, Albertans have every reason to expect more of the same from the Progressive Conservative government: generosity for the oilpatch, discipline for citizens.
Related research:
Misplaced Generosity: Extraordinary profits in Alberta's oil and gas industry
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For Immediate Release | November 25, 2010
Misplaced Generosity:
New report says extreme oil profits come at expense of government revenue
Despite a provincial deficit now forecast to reach $5 billion this year, a new report from the U of A’s Parkland Institute points out that Albertans have foregone tens of billions in potential revenue as a result of overly generous royalty cuts and the government’s failure to meet even its own modest targets.
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Related research:
Misplaced Generosity: Extraordinary profits in Alberta's oil and gas industry
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