blog | Oct 19, 2022
Alberta’s new premier Danielle Smith is taking the reins of government at a time when many families are struggling to pay their bills. Inflation is high. The wages of many Albertans are not keeping up. Alberta’s minimum wage has been frozen at $15 since October 1, 2018. Premier Smith could give minimum-wage workers a hand up during these difficult times by raising the minimum wage. The UCP government should also legislate annual increases to the minimum wage that align with the annual rate of inflation.
research | Oct 03, 2022
This report explains how the four biggest oil sands companies received $4.3 billion in tax cuts from the UCP government since 2019 through the so-called “Job Creation Tax Cut,” while at the same time eliminating thousands of employees from their payrolls. The research shows the Big Four used the tax giveaway to increase executives’ pay and boost cash transfers to shareholders, while accelerating automation and cutting jobs.
blog | Mar 04, 2021
The compounded impact of years of cuts will be catastrophic. The United Conservative government is cutting or privatizing services that Albertans rely on in order to pay for their 33 per cent tax giveaway to large profitable corporations and for their mistakes of cancelling the crude-by-rail contracts and gambling on Keystone XL. On par with Premier Klein’s massive cuts in the late 1990s, the result will be deep structural changes and a legacy of lasting damage.
blog | Feb 12, 2021
Ever since U.S. President Joe Biden cancelled the border-crossing permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, Premier Jason Kenney and others continue to spread misinformation about KXL, the oil sands industry and the energy transition. Ian Hussey takes a look at oil sands operations and pipelines, the energy transition and possibilities for economic diversification in Alberta.
blog | Jun 01, 2020
Women in Alberta are suffering the triple blow of bearing the brunt of the governing United Conservative Party’s austerity agenda and the COVID-19 economic and public health crises. In this blog Ian Hussey makes the case for an evidence-based COVID-19 response and recovery plan for Alberta that includes feminist considerations, and makes some suggestions for what such a plan might include.
blog | Apr 02, 2020
On March 31 Premier Jason Kenney announced that the Government of Alberta will invest $1.5 billion and provide an additional $6 billion loan guarantee to facilitate the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Research manager Ian Hussey looks at the deal to determine just who benefits from this investment and in what measure.
blog | Mar 23, 2020
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has suggested that the federal government should bail out oil and gas companies in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the Saudi-Russian price war. In this blog researcher Ian Hussey explains why that would be a bad idea.
research | Mar 10, 2020
This report explores the employment, capital spending, and operational spending implications of the ongoing restructuring and consolidation of the Canadian oil sands industry.
blog | Feb 28, 2020
Alberta Budget 2020, released on February 27, continued the UCP commitment to deep spending cuts in public services. Parkland Institute research managers Ian Hussey and Alison McIntosh outline some of the budget's key components.
blog | Jan 31, 2020
Parkland Institute research manager Ian Hussey writes about which Albertans have benefited from the $15 minimum wage and its impact on employment and hours of work.
