Recent Research
In the Shadows
Living and Working Without Status in Alberta
This report examines the lives of undocumented migrant workers living in Alberta. It discusses the results of a research study of 32 undocumented workers, outlines the circumstances that led to their loss of status, describes their work and living conditions, and explores their reasons for staying and their hopes for the future.
The Future of Alberta's Oil Sands Industry
More Production, Less Capital, Fewer Jobs
This report explores the employment, capital spending, and operational spending implications of the ongoing restructuring and consolidation of the Canadian oil sands industry.
Recent Blog Posts
Alberta lab services
from guinea pigs to heroes (and back again?)
Jason Kenney joined others last week in celebrating the life-saving contributions of medical lab professionals in Alberta. This was a marked departure from his drive just a few months ago to privatize the province's labs and label lab workers as not "frontline" medicine. Rebecca Graff-McRae digs into the current work of medical labs in Alberta, their recent political history, and what might become of them post-pandemic.
Cargill, COVID, and the failure of Alberta OHS policy
Two meat-packing plants in southern Alberta have given rise to nearly one in six of Alberta’s 3400 cases of COVID-19. Athabasca University's Bob Barnetson and Jason Foster examine what went wrong at the two meatpacking plants, what it tells us about the inadequacy of OHS policy in Alberta and how the incidents could have been avoided.
Jason Kenney's pandemic politics
In his Address to Albertans on April 7, Premier Jason Kenney quoted Franklin Delano Roosevelt without naming him. In this blog research manager Rebecca Graff-McRae takes a deeper look at some of the context and themes of Roosevelt's "fear itself" address to find some instructive historical parallels, and some even more stark contrasts.