Op-eds | May 11, 2012
Way forward for Greece is unclear:
But perhaps a new Greece - a new world - is being born
It is election night in Greece. Television stations are filled with talking heads examining the entrails of what has happened. In the Plaka, the capital’s old tourist area, shops are closed, but the restaurants are open for the few tourists, though the mood subdued.
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Op-eds | April 19, 2012
For-profit health options fraught with peril
The Alberta election has just hit the halfway point, and health care has again become a lightning rod. The rival parties are facing off on reform, promising changes running the gamut from more privatization to more public care.
Related research:
Delivery Matters: The impacts of for-profit ownership in long-term care
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For Immediate Release | April 18, 2012
Cost of infrastructure private-public contracts impossible to track:
Study finds privatization reduces accountability and transparency
A new fact sheet from the Parkland Institute says that contracting out infrastructure maintenance to the private sector in Alberta has resulted in reduced accountability and transparency, misleading figures on the condition of infrastructure, and increased risk to tax dollars.
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Related research:
Delivery Matters: infrastructure privatization and accountability
For Immediate Release | April 10, 2012
New report highlights dangers of private health care:
HRC example shows private costs more and puts tax dollars at risk
A new report from the Parkland Institute says that supporting private health facilities with public health dollars costs more, damages the public system, and puts tax dollars and patient care at risk.
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Related research:
Delivery Matters: The high costs of for-profit health services in Alberta
Op-eds | April 09, 2012
Royalty reform long overdue:
Public share of resource wealth has fallen since Lougheed era
The Wildrose party’s plan to bring back “Ralph Bucks” is the splashiest example from the provincial election campaign that the leading parties appear to be putting the cart before the horse. Keen to announce plans to spend Alberta’s resource wealth, they have avoided discussion on the integrity of the province’s royalty system.
Related research:
Misplaced Generosity: Update 2012: Extraordinary profits in Alberta's oil and gas industry
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For Immediate Release | March 15, 2012
Misplaced Generosity:
Alberta government set to forego $55 billion in royalties over next three years
A new report from the U of A’s Parkland Institute says that despite a provincial deficit, the Alberta government will forego some $55 billion in potential revenue over the next three years as a result of overly generous royalty cuts and the government’s failure to meet even the modest targets set by previous administrations.
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Related research:
Misplaced Generosity: Update 2012: Extraordinary profits in Alberta's oil and gas industry
For Immediate Release | March 07, 2012
Alberta’s Wage Gap Still Highest in Canada:
New fact sheet shows status of Alberta women lagging behind the rest of the country
A new fact sheet released this morning, on the eve of International Women’s Day, by the U of A’s Parkland Institute in conjunction with the Alberta College of Social Workers shows that Alberta continues to lag behind the rest of the country in terms of women’s equality, wages, and family-related benefits and services.
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Women’s equality a long way off in Alberta: Gender gap remains among the widest in the nation
Op-eds | March 05, 2012
Alberta could lead next national energy program
Many will remember the made-in-Alberta bumper sticker of the 1980s that told Canadians outside of Alberta that they could “freeze in the dark.” The message caught the mood of many Albertans enraged by the National Energy Policy.
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For Immediate Release | February 23, 2012
In Residential Long-term Care, Delivery Matters:
Research shows direct link between for-profit ownership and lower quality
A new fact sheet released this morning by the U of A’s Parkland Institute points to a direct link between the ownership of residential long-term care facilities and the quality of service delivery.
The fact sheet, entitled Delivery Matters, looks at a variety of US and Canadian research to come to the conclusion that for-profit residential long-term care facilities are more likely to provide inferior care.
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Related research:
Delivery Matters: The impacts of for-profit ownership in long-term care
Op-eds | February 22, 2012
It’s time Alberta stopped giving away its oil
The Alberta government’s new budget is laudable for its commitment to providing stability to education and health-care funding, and for its reinvestments in some areas of social services, notably increased payments to AISH recipients.
Related research:
Misplaced Generosity: Extraordinary profits in Alberta's oil and gas industry
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For Immediate Release | February 17, 2012
Family Day on the Treadmill:
Albertans have among the lowest leisure time and longest work hours in the world
A new fact sheet released on the eve of the Family Day weekend by the U of A’s Parkland Institute highlights that Albertans are spending less time with their families than anyone else in the country and most countries in the OECD.
Op-eds | February 15, 2012
Does anyone in government really care about Canadian jobs?
The Harper government has recently stated it wants to “diversify Canada’s markets.” Hence, its support of the Northern Gateway pipeline and the prime minister’s upcoming trip to China.
On the surface, pronouncements about finding new markets appear no different than what Canadian governments have said for years.
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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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Related research:
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
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